


Best Man Duties

by ladysian



Series: Eliot's surprises [3]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Bachelorette Party, Christmas, Cunnilingus, Eliot and Quinn centric, F/M, Family, Fellatio, Heterosexual Sex, New Year, Parties, Sex, Shaman Training, Stag Nights, Torture, Weddings, new relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2020-10-29 14:21:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 60,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20798033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysian/pseuds/ladysian
Summary: The preparations for Quinn and Ruby’s wedding never run smoothly, especially for Eliot Spencer, the further adventures of the family and Pack Spencer and Leverage Inc.





	1. Punishment

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows directly from Eliot’s Historic Retrieval and if you haven’t read it you’ll need to to understand this one.
> 
> I’m adding new characters to the group for this one, I hope y’all stay interested!
> 
> I have so much to say but feel that here isn’t the place, I’ll tell y’all soon.
> 
> I’m up to chapter 15 so you should get regular updates for a while :).
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

22nd December 

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda helps Eliot through the door of their home, manoeuvring him from under his arm as he folds down over the back of a couch, leaning there as Jayda holds his hips steady, not daring to touch him anywhere else as she knows how much pain he’s in, she can feel a tiny echo of it through the bond, it’s all he’s letting through he’s got it closed down so tightly.

"El, we need to get you up the stairs, get you laid on the bed or maybe showered if you feel up to it, I know you’re hurtin'..." she starts trying to cajole him into standing up straight again when he interrupts her harshly.

"You have _NO_ _idea_ how much I’m hurtin' right now... I know you _think_ you’re helpin' but you’ve gotta let me do this my own way, at my own pace, ok?" He starts out snarling roughly before catching himself and reminding himself and his wolf that this was not her fault, she was just trying to look after him and care for his wounds.

"Ok... so tell me what you need" Jayda replies after taking a deep breath in and swallowing the huge lump in her throat, half sympathy for Eliot and half pain at the way he spoke to her, she knows he doesn’t mean it, that it’s the pain talking, but it still hurts to be spoken to like that when she’s only trying to look after him and ease his pain, but she knows that now isn’t the time for her to wallow in self pity, she’ll be able to do that once Eliot is as comfortable as she can make him and he’s finally asleep... or unconscious again.

"You got any more of those Vicodin? I could use some pain relief about now..." Eliot answers her with a slight lift in his voice as he turns his head to look at her where she’s moved to stand beside him where she’s less likely to touch him accidentally, obviously trying to make her smile a little as an apology, so she smiles down at him where he’s turned his head to face her before stroking his hair and then going over to her medicine chest and taking out two Vicodins for him.

"Here you go, you ok holdin' them while I get you some water?" She asks, not wanting to risk him dropping them where Wahya or one of the girls might find them and take them without knowing how dangerous they are.

"Darlin' they whipped my back, _not_ my hands, the spasms from the electricity have stopped, I’m fine to hold two pills, stop worryin' about hurts that ain’t there, gods know there’s enough that _are_" Eliot replies in a very soft and gentle tone of voice, obviously not wanting to sound like he’s having a go at her again.

"Ok just hold these, I’ll only be a minute..." she says as she wraps his fingers around the two tablets and heads to the kitchen, as she goes Eliot tries to straighten up but after getting agonising shooting pains all down his spine and legs and across his shoulders he decides to stay where he is and think about the Pack Justice punishment he’d just been subjected to instead, to help get it clear in his mind.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

He’d known this was coming, ever since he lost control and killed the man that had been setting traps out in an effort to maim and kill the werewolves of the Tribe Pack, a man who had _laughed_ at the idea of Eliot and Jayda’s daughter, Sarah, being tortured and abused by her adoptive father Jared White Hawk just because she is a were and he wasn’t, before threatening to continue trying to harm both her and the couple too, not to mention the rest of the Pack, making Eliot’s wolf take control and rip the man's throat out.

After he’d left the scene and run back to Jayda, who was in heat at the time, the Tribe Pack had covered for him, making it into an 'animal attack' case for the police, but meaning that Eliot had to face _Pack Justice_ in return, and what a punishment they’d managed to come up with! 

They’d secured him, in just his boxer briefs, by the wrists, from the 'ceiling' made of woven living branches of the trees that form the walls of the Sacred Place, right in the centre of the 'room', in front of the fire that burns in a fire pit on nights the wolves gather, pulling his arms outwards and upwards holding him in a y position before explaining to him in front of the whole Pack what was going to happen, it turns out they have a punishment already set out for wolves who take a human life, and because Eliot is the True Alpha he is to get a worse punishment than any other wolf would get, one in fact that no one else would be able to even survive, only because of his True Alphahood would this be a less than terminal punishment, the normal punishment for killing a human is twenty five lashes, which is a harsh punishment for even the strongest 'normal' werewolf as it’s done with a metal, electrified, bullwhip, not just a low level voltage either, but enough to be classed as torture, which was typical as it’s the one torture Eliot’s most susceptible to, but Eliot is to have fifty lashes as an example to all the other werewolves that even the True Alpha is not above Pack Law.

When the sentence was read out Jayda tried to interrupt but he stopped her by begging her over the Bond not to interfere, telling her that he had to allow this because of what he’d done, but he also begged her to close down the Bond, block him as tightly as she could because he didn’t want her suffering with him, she tried to argue but he quickly convinced her and felt her close down the Bond, once he felt that she’d done it he gave her a sad smile and closed down his side, separating them from each other for the first time since they became Mated and the Bond came fully to life between them, making sure that none of his pain would pass over to her and give her pain.

When the Chieftain of the Tribe performed the first lash Eliot didn’t shout or flinch, he growled through gritted teeth and pulled the chains of the cuffs holding him in place hard as he could as his head whipped all the way back and he swayed with the force of the impact, his legs spasming because of the electricity passing through him, that lash was quickly followed by a second where his eyes squeezed closed as he swung again.

The seventh lash finally wrenches a scream from Eliot, his head whipping back again as the scream forces it’s way out past clenched teeth, the cords in his neck bulging at the pressure they’re being put under by the tightness of his muscles straining against the hold the cuffs have on him, his face getting redder and redder as his blood pressure rises and sweat starts to really pour down his face, chest, arms and legs.

On the sixteenth lash he screams with his mouth open as he gasps for air, his voice starting to show signs of cracking because of the stress his vocal chords are under, his hair is in sweaty tangled curls and the cuffs have cut into his wrists where he’s been both hanging by his wrists when his legs spasm and can’t hold him up and when his arms spasm and try to pull in towards his body even though there is no slack in the chains to allow that.

By the time the twenty seventh lash falls he can only make a broken yell rather than a scream, his head is now hanging forward so his chin is resting on his chest, there is blood running down both his arms from the cuffs and down his back from where the pressure of too many blows overlapping the same place have ruptured the welts, allowing blood to flow freely down his back, there are marks on his chest where the whip has occasionally wrapped around his body and the tip has cut into his chest, one of which cuts just into the side of the nipple leaving it looking like Eliot is lactating blood.

By the thirty eighth blow Eliot is sobbing as he yells and _begs_, but his voice is so broken and hoarse no one can really tell or understand, his legs and arms are constantly shaking and spasming, leaving him just hanging limply by his wrists, not even trying to keep his feet under himself any longer, his shoulders are shaking with both his sobs and the pain he’s feeling, and he’s worried he’s not keeping the Bond closed tightly enough because he’s so desperate to feel the comfort of his Mate with him that he might be letting his grip unintentionally slip a little, apart from the pain it’s the only thought remaining in his mind anymore.

On the forty first swing the Chief's aim is slightly wide and the beginning of the whip where it meets the handle crashes against the base of Eliot’s spine, the tail comes around Eliot’s body and the tip just flicks the shaft of his only partially flaccid dick, splitting the material of his boxers and his skin underneath making it bleed profusely, the two sensations together being enough to make him really _SCREAM_ again while whipping his head back as his back bows before he slumps in the cuffs and slams into unconsciousness as his eyes roll back in his head.

The Chief quickly finishes the last blows and then orders the wolves to all leave to go back to their normal lives, once they’ve left he then orders Eliot taken down as gently as possible, and laid on his front on a couple of blankets on the floor, only when this has been done do they allow Jayda to come and attend to her Mate, her father Diwali, who is the Tribe Shaman and local doctor, coming to join her with a bowl of heated water, some clean rags and some antibacterial soap.

They kneel on either side of his prone, shaking and spasming form, his muscles still reacting to the bolts of electricity that have passed through them from each lash of the whip, Jayda isn’t sure where she can touch his body to soothe his pain without hurting him more so she simply strokes his hair back off his forehead and down to just above his neck until her father speaks.

"Here daughter, take this and start wiping him down starting from his wrist, clean away all the blood and make sure you clean the cuts properly, once his arms are clean start at his shoulders and work down his back, once his back and legs are clean we will turn him on his side and clean the other wounds, hopefully before he wakes" Diwali instructs, knowing that Jayda knows what to do but hoping that listening to him instructing her will help to keep her calm and her mind occupied with something other than the pain her Mate is suffering.

Jayda answers "yes father" as she starts to clean Eliot’s wrist on the side of him she’s sat at, not really paying attention to her father or what she’s doing as she’s concentrating all of her focus on the Bond she and Eliot share and on opening it wide from her side so he’ll be able to feel her presence in his mind the moment he starts to rise out of unconsciousness.

After slowly working down the near side of Eliot’s body while her father cleaned his other side they work together to turn Eliot onto his side so Diwali can hold him steady while Jayda cares for the damages to the front of his body, but when they roll him onto his side the blanket he’s laid on moves with him where he’s bled against it while they’ve been working on his back and arms and the blood has dried, gluing the blanket to his wounds, Jayda gently soaks the blanket where it’s stuck to his cut nipple, allowing the scabbed blood on the blanket to soften and eventually peel away from the wound without causing too much pain or further damage.

Once she has the blanket away from his chest she cleans and examines the cut that just splits the areole but not the actual nipple, she decides that she’ll leave it how it is and only stitch it if he wants her to once he’s awake, quickly using steri-strips to hold the wound closed before adding a dressing that is really gonna hurt when it is removed because of his chest hair, after making that decision she takes a deep breath and moves down his body, pulling her basin of water with her so she can soak off the blanket from the last lash wound, the cut that goes halfway around the shaft of his penis that had bled profusely when it was caused, once the blanket is away Jayda uses the cut in the material of his boxers to gain access to his wound without having to wrestle with the elastic of the waistband, she finds the wound to be a cut around part of the shaft rather than along the length, and while it looks bad it doesn’t cut that deep, once it’s been cleaned up, been held together with steri-strips and had a dressing put on for protection and buffering from being laid on his front Jayda and Diwali take a quick look at the burn marks on the soles of his feet where the electricity had tried to ground itself through him but Diwali decides that they should be ok, telling Jayda "if they cause him significant pain or start to look any worse call me ok?" Getting a nod in return.

After Eliot is wrapped in the second blanket Jayda and Diwali motion the men who had lifted him down to take him out to the truck and lay him facedown on the passenger side of the bench seat, deciding it's better to move him while he’s still unconscious rather than put him through the pain of being awake and suffering.

Once Jayda has got them about halfway home from the Sacred Place Eliot starts to show signs of waking, he eventually turns his head and rolls his eyes up to look at her before licking his lips and speaking in a rough whisper "Jay, you ok?"

"I’m fine baby, if you need to talk use the Bond, you’ve done some damage to your throat and vocal chords so best not to aggravate them, ok? Love you" Jayda tells him before stroking over his hair in a soothing action, making him rub his face against her leg as he tries to bring his hand up to stroke her knee, but he is not able to manage it due to pain and weakness in his shoulders and arms, then he tells Jayda he loves her through the Bond and asks her to explain what happened once he lost consciousness for the rest of the journey home.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

After that she’d told him about what happened while he was unconscious until they’d arrived home and she’d helped him out of the truck and into the house, the memories slotting themselves into place in his mind in seconds as he watches her bring him the glass of water.

He pushes up against the back of the sofa with both hands until he’s upright enough to take the pills, he tosses them into his mouth and quickly takes the glass and swallows down about half the water, washing the pills down with it before handing the glass back and whispering "thanks darlin'"

After taking the glass back from him Jayda gently rubs the back of his hand where it’s supporting him on the back of the sofa, wanting to show him love and affection but not really daring to touch him in case she hurts him, eventually she asks "so how we goin' to do this? We’ve gotta get you up the stairs and in to bed, preferably with a bath or a shower in there too, what do you need me to do?"

Eliot takes a deep breath which is prematurely cut short when his ribs scream at him from the side that had never healed properly after Quinn broke two of them the first time they met, obviously the whipping had aggravated the old damage giving him something else to '_enjoy_', but once he has control of his breathing again he answers "I’m gonna slowly head for the stairs and work my way up them, I really don’t feel up to a bath or shower, you and your dad already washed me down so I should be ok until the mornin', and then if we can get me into the bed either on my side or my front... whatever hurts less, what I need you to do the most is hold my hand and be ready to support my weight if I ask you to, would that be ok, darlin'?"

Jayda looks at him with liquid, violet eyes full of sympathy before taking hold of the hand she’s been stroking and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek softly and rest her forehead against his temple as she whispers "I love you" then steps back a little to allow him to move when he’s ready.

"Love you too darlin'" he answers in his scream-roughened voice as he tries to straighten up a little more as he steps back away from the sofa, wobbling a little but being mostly steady "lets go to bed" he adds as he very gently pulls her against his chest and kisses her sweetly, letting her know that everything is fine between them and that he really does love her.

She looks at him with her mildest 'don’t you even dare think about it' look, wanting to make sure he’s not stupid enough to want to try to be intimate with the state his body is in, because she knows what he’s like by now and she’s not willing for him to put himself in that much pain just because of her, but she doesn’t want to have a go at him either.

"I might sleep down here... I don’t want to risk hurtin' you in my sleep" She says softly as he starts to shuffle/walk across the room towards the staircase, making him halt in his tracks and look at her with a scowl as he pulls her against his front again.

"No way is that happenin'! you are sleepin' in _our_ bed tonight, with me, or we’ll be havin' a fallin' out... I need you next to me... _for comfort_..." he says, starting off strongly then softening his tone until the last two words are whispered as he starts moving again.

"Ok, don’t get stressed out about it, I’ll come to bed if it’s that important to you" she says quietly with love in her voice, stopping walking as they reach the foot of the staircase.

"Ok darlin', need you to go up first and just be ready to help if I ask you to, I don’t want you behind me in case I fall backwards, don’t want to risk hurtin' either of us..." Eliot requests as he pants with the pain of his movements making his damaged skin pull as it moves over his bruised muscles.

"Ok, I never got the chance to ask you earlier, do you want the cut on your nipple stitchin' back together? I can do that one but I can’t do the other one, and I really don’t think you’d thank me for tryin' to" she asks as they start up the stairs, Eliot shaking his head in answer until she mentions the cut on his penis at which he goes noticeably pale.

"How bad is that one?" He asks, looking very nervous as he climbs another step.

"If you were lookin' down at it, laid on your back and excited, it would make you think a woman wearin' bright red lipstick had left a print on you as she was suckin' you, it is only on the front not all the way round but I wouldn’t be able to give you stitches there because of the way the skin moves, you’re not goin' to like gettin' hard for a while until it heals, dad reckons at least three days maybe up to five, sorry, but at least rut is out of the way so there’s no chance of that bein' a problem" she explains, making him groan when she says about rut.

"Darlin' I _don’t_ gotta be in rut to get hard for you, it’s more like havin' to constantly fight against bein' hard whenever you’re near, or I’m thinkin' about you, or I can smell sugar cookies, or...." Eliot tells her making her grin, then smile bashfully, then blush before eventually cutting him off with a gentle kiss.

"Ok, I get the picture" she says as they take the last step and Eliot can then shuffle into the bedroom and head for the bed.

"Jay? I gotta problem... I need to piss..." he tells her with his cheeks colouring a little, it’s funny because if he’d been fine he’d happily tell the guys he was excusing himself to urinate but with the fact that there’s been damage to his dick it’s made him embarrassed, he’ll never understand the human psyche, not even his own.

"That’s ok baby, I’ll get you through to the bathroom and take the dressin’ and your ruined shorts off and then you can do what you need to" She tells him with a soft, loving smile as she leads him past the bed and into the bathroom.

Once there Jayda perches on the side of the stone tub and strips down his slashed to ribbons boxer briefs, being very careful with the elastic waistband to make sure she hurts neither his dick or his whip marks down his ass and the back of his legs, once she’s discarded them she slowly unwraps the dressing that has been protecting his injured cock while he’s been laid on it, taking her time and being careful not to pull at the scabbed, crusted, blood attaching the dressing to his length, letting him see for the first time what the tip of the metal whip had done to him.

"Oooooo" he whistles as he looks down at the slash of crusted blood about halfway down his length, he knows better than to touch the wound, the last things he needs is the pain to reawaken or for it to get infected from him poking and prodding at it.

"Does it look this bad when it’s not scabbed over?" He asks, his need to use the toilet temporarily forgotten as he wonders about what damage is under the dried blood.

"No, it’s a straight slash, it just looks so bad because of the build up of crusted blood, when you wash in the mornin' you’ll see what I mean" Jayda answers, putting his mind to rest a little with her answer before adding "now I’m gonna leave you to it and get the bed ready for you, go pee!"

He smiles in return and heads to the toilet while she leaves the room, Eliot having a little trouble with where to hold himself properly but finally managing to relieve himself, although it does leave him with a painful stinging sensation that he’s just a little worried about.

After washing his hands, being careful of the wounds on his wrists all the time, he heads back out to the bedroom where Jayda has stripped the duvet and blankets off the bed leaving just two top sheets to cover them which she’s completely turned away from his side of the bed so he can get comfortable without worrying about them getting in the way and then she can lay them over him gently once he’s ready.

"Ain’t y' gonna be too cold with only sheets?" He asks from the bathroom doorway as he holds onto the doorframe for support, not wanting her to be uncomfortable during the night.

"I popped back downstairs and turned up the thermostat, we’ll be plenty warm" she replies, smiling at him lovingly as she gestures to the bed, encouraging him to come and climb on when he’s ready.

"Ok, y' want me to lay down first? 'M gonna try on my side first so I can cuddle up against you, wanna wrap m' arm around y'" he tells her, moving forward when she nods and slowly getting onto his knees on the bed before manoeuvring down so he’s laid on the side the whip hadn’t curled around over, the most pain-free part of his body, before gesturing for her to come join him.

"In just a minute, I need to use the bathroom myself and then I’ll get undressed and come to bed, ok?" She answers, quickly heading into the bathroom and taking care of business while stripping off so that when she’s done all she has to do is dump her clothes in the hamper and then cover Eliot over with the two sheets, not tucking them around him but just laying them gently over him.

"Thanks darlin'" he murmurs, obviously near sleep already, most likely because of the Vicodin and the adrenaline crash he must be suffering from, Jayda comes around the bed and turns off the lights before oh so gently sliding into the bed.

Once she’s under the sheets she asks him "how would you like me?" As she’s not sure which way he’d like to cuddle her and she wants him to be comfortable.

"Just on y'r side with y' back facin' me" he mutters, barely awake, and she carefully moves onto her side and presses her back against his chest once he wraps his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her solar plexus as if to protect her as he lets out a snuffly snore, something he doesn’t usually do and that she puts down to the painkillers, she does think it’s rather cute though, then he pulls her tighter and falls into a deeper sleep, Jayda gently stroking the back of his hand to comfort them both as she waits to sleep too.


	2. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda comforts Eliot through a night of pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some one was kind enough to leave a comment on the first chapter so I’m going to spoil y’all with a double post, the two chapters kinda go together as they make up one night so it’s only fair so enjoy this one and just wait for the next one which should be up in about half an hour or so
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

December 23rd

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda is woken during the night by the sound of Eliot moaning as his legs thrash against the backs of hers, his hand has tight hold of her hip that she’s sure is bruising her and she’s quite scared that he’s going to turn over in his sleep and hurt his wounds because of the nightmare he’s obviously in the grip of.

"El! Eliot wake up! You’re safe! Wake up darlin'!" She half shouts over her shoulder, wanting to be loud enough to wake him but not so loud she scares him in his nightmare muddled mind.

"NO!" He growl-shouts out as he rolls onto his back and pushes her forward away from him all in one move, suddenly starting to cough because of the injuries to his throat before screaming as the pain from his wounds comes awake again making him roll back to his side in an effort to alleviate the sudden pain.

"Eliot! El, it’s ok, you’re safe at home, it’s just me... what do you need?" She asks as she gets to her knees on the floor where she’d landed after he pushed her off the bed in his shock at being woken, and then strokes the side of his face as she turns on the hidden headboard lamp so she can see him.

"Ah! _Pain_! Jay? Why you on the floor? Need somethin' for this pain..." he answers, not realising he’d shoved her off the bed in his sleep and begging for something to help him with the pain of his as yet unhealed lash marks.

"I’m down here because you shoved me off the bed durin' your nightmare, I can get you some more Vicodin for the pain or I could try some of the unguent dad used to give me to use on your back after your pa... you know,... I have some here, in the bathroom if you want me to try?" She offers him, his face looking guilty when she tells him he shoved her off the bed but the relief when she offers him some more Vicodin tells her just how much pain he’s in because she knows he never usually takes pain meds, he’s always been that way, too scared of sleeping too soundly and not being able to protect others if he’s too deep under.

"Yeah the pills and the unguent sound like a good idea, if it’s ok, and... I’m sorry I pushed you off the bed, I... i didn’t hurt you did I?" He answers, showing his need for the pain relief plainly by asking for both types, which is so very unlike him, before apologising for potentially hurting her.

"You didn’t hurt me, don’t worry, I am more worried about your nightmare than that, now wait here while I run downstairs and get you the pills and a bottle of water, and once you’ve had them then I’ll get the paste and put it on for you" she tells him, stroking his face one last time before using the bed to push up to her feet.

She quickly runs down the stairs and gets the pills and water for Eliot, checking on Wahya while she’s down there and then running back up the stairs to give him his pain relief.

"Here you go, take these while I get the paste" she instructs him before heading into the bathroom and getting out the jar of herbal healing paste her father makes to be used as a complementary medicine, she comes back into the room to find Eliot laid on his front in the centre of the bed with the sheets kicked down to the bottom so she can get at all the whip marks.

"Ok baby, I’m gonna start at the lowest one just above your knees and then work my way up, if you need a break or for me to stop completely if it hurts too much just say so, I’ll try and be as gentle as possible, love you" she warns him before unscrewing the lid and smoothing some of the cooling, soothing, paste over the lowest mark on his legs, just a few inches above the back of his knees where the skin is thin and sensitive.

As she works Jayda asks him "so what was the nightmare about? You woke me thrashin' your legs, holdin' my hip hard and moanin' before I woke you, was it bad?"

Eliot lets out a deep breath in resignation before he answers "it was a flashback,... when I was in the army, I was captured, more than once, but this particular time the torturer had an even worse sadistic streak than most,... he _liked_ to see people thrash and fight when they were in pain, he _loved_ the sufferin', he really wanted the information I had so he tried quite a few things tryin' to get me to crack, one was a... a variation on waterboardin'... he had my upper body tied to a long board but my legs left free to hang and had some guys hold me above a metal water trough, face down, then he connected jumper cables to the trough and had me lowered into the water, the board holdin' me in place without his guys riskin' electric... shocks, once I was in the water about twenty seconds he turned on the juice and my whole body convulsed, forcin' me to let out the breath i’d been carefully holdin' and breathe in the... water, makin' my legs thrash and kick against the side of the trough in automatic reaction as I thought he really was goin' to kill me, then he would have me lifted out of the water enough that I could cough it all back out, but not catch my breath, before he’d have me dunked again, this went... on for days, I woke up more than once to some filthy guy givin' me... mouth-to-mouth to get me breathin' again, eventually I escaped, but before I did I cut that bastard torturers throat,... deeply,... I made sure he’d _never_ torture anyone else ever again... so that was what I was flashin' back to" He tells her, stopping every so often to let out noises of pain or relief as she works up his back with the herbal remedy paste.

"That’s awful, I’m so sorry you had to suffer that, and that it still haunts you now, if there’s anythin' I can do to help just let me know ok?" She tells him as she continues up his back, she’s about halfway between his waist and his shoulder blades, but stops for a moment to lean over and kiss his neck gently before she continues her work.

"To be honest I haven’t even thought about it in years... I think it’s down to the electric shocks tonight that I dreamed about it... just an isolated flashback... I hope" he tells her as his body slowly relaxes under the gentle massage of her fingertips applying the paste to his welts and cuts, soothing the pain along with the Vicodin to work towards putting him back to sleep, no matter how much he’s fighting against it because he doesn’t want another round with the nightmare.

"I love y' ya know..." he mumbles out, his body melting into the mattress as sleep draws nearer.

"I love you too baby, go to sleep, the bed's big enough I can curl up next to you without you movin', I’ll sort out the sheets... you just go to sleep" She replies, Eliot letting out a snore just after she finishes speaking, making her smile fondly at him and make a mental note to make fun of him tomorrow about it.

She finishes the last couple of lash marks and puts the jar of paste on Eliot’s bedside cabinet before going to the bottom of the bed and gathering the two sheets and laying them down over Eliot gently, crawling into her own side of the bed as carefully as possible before curling up on her side facing him and pulling the sheets up over her own shoulder, she strokes his face that is turned towards her and whispers "sweet dreams baby" before settling down to wait for sleep to try and come claim her again.

**********************************************************************************

When Eliot wakes to the light of day still laid on his front he thanks the gods for his not having moved again in his sleep, he’s facing Jayda and can see the stress and tiredness in her face, letting him know she hadn’t slept much the night before, he decides not to wake her but go and shower on his own, he knows it’s going to hurt but he thinks he can manage it, he just wants to let her get some sleep and he knows she’ll worry less if he can prove he’s ok to do things himself before she wakes up.

He takes a deep breath and gets ready to get up, just wondering which way would be best he decides he should get up on his hands and knees and then climb off the bed that way, so he lifts his upper body using his hands like the beginning of a push up then tries to lift his hips.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" He screams out as the scabbed clot from on his dick is ripped off by the sheet it had become bonded to while he was sleeping on his front, instantly waking Jayda who is up on her knees holding him in a flash.

"What happened? What’s wrong?" She asks as she holds his face against her stomach while he pants in pain, unable to move from his hands and knees position, even when he starts to feel blood drip off the end of his wounded dick.

Eliot whines like a wounded animal as he gasps and pants until he’s able to answer "was tryin' to go for a shower without wakin' you, as I got up onto my knees i found that i’d gotten stuck to the sheet in my sleep when I ripped the scab off my dick, you better get a towel I can feel the blood drippin' off me onto the bed..." he tells her, still panting in pain.

"Are you ok though?" She asks, worried he may keel over if she leaves him, she doesn’t want him to faint from the pain while she’s not there with him.

"It hurts but I’m fine... just worried about stainin' the mattress is all" he replies before adding "go on, go get a towel or some rags or somethin'" encouraging her to get moving to protect the mattress and get something to stop the bleeding.

"Just two minutes ok? I’ll be back" she says with a slightly panicked tone to her voice, obviously deeply worried for her Mate and fiancée, she quickly jumps off the bed and sprints through the bathroom to the ornate Chinese cabinet where in the top right corner shelf she has some black towels and facecloths for just this kind of thing, she grabs a handful and comes running back to the bed, flinging the sheets back from over Eliot allowing her to see him on his knees and elbows, his head hanging below his shoulders as he gasps in pain and a fast series of drips of blood flow from the end of his dick.

"Oh gods, Eliot! Here, can you get up onto just your knees?" She asks him as she shoves one of the folded black cloths under the flow of blood, getting a shake of his head in reply as he tries his best to control the pain.

"You’ve got to stop the bleedin', you’re gonna need to apply pressure to the wound..." he manages to get out on a deep growl, trying his best not to growl at her but he just can’t hold it back.

"I know, are you ready for me to try that? You know it’s gonna hurt worse for a bit at least... Hey you wanted a shower... maybe we’d be better off gettin' you into the shower to wash and then I can work on stoppin' the bleedin', what do you think?" She suggests as she knows that if she stops the bleeding then it’ll only start again when he goes in the shower.

"I don’t know if I can manage it..." he admits as he tries flexing various muscles checking to see how bad the pain is going to be this morning.

"I’ll help you, worst comes to worst I can alway get you laid, leaned or sat and call Quinn for help, ok?" She promises, feeling a little hurt that he didn’t think she’d help him.

"Ok let’s give it a try, although you should strip the sheets and try to get the stain out of the mattress while I’m in there" he points out, still worried that he’s caused some damage to their bed.

"Don’t worry about that, there’s a rubber mattress protector and the sheets will wash, I’ll do them once you’re comfortable on one of the couches downstairs, alright?" She reassures him, letting him know he’s got nothing else to worry about.

"Alright let’s do this, I’ll crawl over and get off that side, then we’ll get into the bathroom" he agrees, shuffling over the bed while Jayda moves the black cloth with him, when he reaches the side of the bed she hands him the cloth.

"Here, hold this against your wound, I don’t want to do it for fear of hurtin' you accidentally, so hold it tight to the wound as you can bare and I’ll support you under your arms again like last night, ready?" Jayda instructs, Eliot immediately taking hold of the cloth and taking a hard grip of his dick making him groan out in pain, after a few seconds he moves again and gets one foot on the floor, taking a deep breath he puts his free hand against the wall above the headboard and uses it to support himself as he brings his other foot to the floor and stands up as straight as he can, which isn’t very straight.

"Ggggrrrr... why do my feet hurt? And how are you intendin' to grab hold of me?" He asks after letting out a long growl of pain, Jayda stilling until he’s as steady as he’s going to get as he holds onto the wall still.

"Your feet hurt because of the electricity groundin' through them durin' the punishment and I’m gonna support you under your arms, alright?" She answers him before slowly putting one hand around his elbow of the hand on the wall and her other under his arm, supporting him as he turns and makes his slow, shuffling, painful, way into the bathroom.

By the time they reach the shower the occasional drip of blood is escaping the soaked cloth Eliot has hold of so Jayda takes him straight into the shower enclosure and turns on the water, knowing that the water hitting him is going to hurt no matter which side it hits first, she changes some settings to make the flow gentler before leading him under the water and into a place where she can see what’s going on.

"Okay sweetheart slowly let go with the cloth" she instructs, already seeing the amount of blood that’s washing out of the saturated piece of material, hoping that the blood flow has reduced some from his pressure on the wound.


	3. Unexpected Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda and Eliot deal with the aftermath of his punishment before they receive an unexpected visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the next partas I say they kinda need to go up together so I hope you enjoy them both.
> 
> Please, please, please leave comments and/or kudos as they really make me wanna write more/faster/better (god I hope I’m getting better)
> 
> Anyway here you go for tonight so enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

As he releases the cloth and lets it fall to the shower floor it’s easy for Jayda to see that the flow is down to only a tiny trickle, she takes hold of his hand and places it around the root of his dick saying "squeeze here" in the hope it will reduce more, with one of the other cloths she is still holding she gently wipes away the smeared blood that is covering the skin around the wound, once the wound is clean Jayda can see that it’s halfway to closed thanks to his werewolf healing, she can see that there’s just one tiny point that is bleeding profusely compared to the rest of the wound and she’s pretty sure it’s where one of the big veins in his dick is, the ones that become prominent when he’s hard, so she guesses that that is what’s causing the bleeding, she presses the new cloth against the bleed again before asking him "Here can you take hold of this, it’s nearly stopped bleedin'" Eliot’s hand moving and taking over the job of squeezing his dick right on the point it’s bleeding at.

"It’s only a small bleed now, it should stop soon, I’ll wash you while I’m down here before dealin' with your back" she tells him as she looks up into his eyes from her kneeling position.

"Shame I’m cut where I am... I’m sure you could have made me feel miles better if you’d gone to work while you were down there!" Eliot says with a strained smirk, enjoying the view of her naked on her knees more than was a good idea at the moment.

"I’d smack you for that comment but I’m not sure where I could that wouldn’t hurt you, so instead you get my 'unimpressed scowl' and the reminder that gettin' hard is not a good idea for you right now..." she tells him as she looks up at him with a small smile as well as the scowl before washing his lower legs and the front of his thighs, when she reaches the top of his thighs she looks up at him to check he’s ok and is surprised to see him gritting his teeth hard.

"What’s wrong El?" She asks as her hands wash then continue to caress his hips and pelvic area, following the curve of his pelvic arch and the surrounding muscles as her fingers trail back and forth along the curve.

"This is too much... it hurts..." he tells her before going back to grinding his teeth as his fist starts to flex and clench by his side, showing her how badly the pain was getting to him, worried about him she slowly climbs to her feet before putting her hands onto his chest.

"What’s hurtin' baby? What’s wrong?" She asks, not wanting him to suffer any pain because of her or anything she’s done.

"I... my... havin' you down there was turnin' me on... I couldn’t help gettin' hard... or at least startin' to and it’s pullin' where it’s healin' and it hurts!" He explains, using his free arm to pull her body against his own, letting go of the cloth and allowing it to fall to the floor as he presses his mostly hard cock against her hip, whining and groaning at the same time, one from pain and the other from arousal.

"Eliot don’t!... You’ll only tease yourself... you know we can’t..." she says trying to hold back her panting, she’s that instantly turned on for him, her residual heat hormones making it very hard for her to ignore his aroused state and his hard, masculine body against hers.

"Gods I want you... even if it hurts... but I don’t think I could make love to you,... I think with the pain in my back and shoulders it would be too much..." he says, his breath coming in laboured pants as well, his left over rut hormones helping him to ignore the pain in his genitals from being aroused, all he wants is to be inside of her.

"How about this... I get on my knees for you and after we’re done we can get you washed, maybe have you Change to help you heal a bit more?" She proposes, instantly going back onto her knees and licking the unharmed underside of his cock from root to tip, but when she licks over, and runs her tongue into, his slit he pulls back with a cry.

"Aaahhh! _No_, that hurts! Just come up and let me kiss you a little then we’ll get cleaned up, I can’t do this..." he tells her, making her worry about why he reacted that way when she didn’t touch his wound.

"Hang on, give me a second, let me have a look and see why that hurt you, where exactly did it hurt?" She asks, taking hold of his cock very carefully and pulling it down a little so that she can get a better look at the head area.

"It hurt in the slit when you licked into me, like as if it pulled apart a wound when you did it" He explains, not feeling like he described the pain very well but doing the best he can.

"Ok give me a second... Oh! How did I miss this? Baby,... when the whip caught you it must have flicked back before losin' contact with your body and the very tip must have just caught in the very edge of the slit, you’ve got another tiny but deep, raw lookin' wound in the slit, didn’t it hurt you to pee last night? It should have burned with that wound there..." she explains once she’s had a close look, instantly feeling bad for both causing him more pain and for not noticing the tiny but deep wound the night before.

"It did sting when I went last night but I figured it had to do with the other wound somehow, but it’s ok, even I didn’t realise i’d been hurt there, the pain from everywhere else drowned out the pain from that..." he answers her as she comes to her feet again and caresses his hips, not wanting her to feel bad over all of this.

"Well that means no cummin' for you, at all! It’d hurt like a motherfucker if your cum touched that wound so... no sex, no oral, no grindin' and no handjobs, by you or me, or Quinn, for at least a couple of days, I’ll try to keep my distance a bit so I’m not teasin' you and you try to keep a rein on your libido, ok?" She asks, not liking having to say or do this but knowing it’s best for him.

"No, don’t keep your distance, need you close as comfort, everythin' else I agree to but not you being distant, need us to be close, ok?" He demands, being able to bare not having sex but only so long as she’s there to hold him and for him to hold her, being close to her is the only thing that will get him through this.

"Deal! Now c’mon let’s get you washed, you wanna wash your own hands and wrists then use this soap to wash your cock too while I do the rest of your back, I’ll be as gentle as I can be..." she asks him gently before leaning against his chest and kissing him lovingly and chastely to show her affection.

"That sounds like a good plan, is this soap goin' to sting?" He agrees then asks a question that has his mouth twisting in distaste at the idea of more pain.

"Yeah it’s gonna sting, but that shows it’s workin', c’mon let’s get done!" She answers, before leaning in to kiss him again on the corner of his mouth, then step around behind him and start to rub soap over the welts on his thighs, being as gentle as possible while still being firm enough to make sure that the soap is really getting into the wounds.

"Ah! Ooohhh! _Gods_ that’s painful! I forgot how bad this kind of thing feels over the last sixteen years!" Eliot exclaims, letting her know just how bad the stinging and pain in his wounds is.

"I’m sorry El, I’m being as gentle as I can... and as quick as I can, get it over with you know? But this is likely to be one of the worst bits" She whispers against his shoulder before kissing it as her hands wash his ass and then up past his waist to his ribs.

"I know you can’t help it and it needs to be done... thank you for doin' this for me, I love you, even if you do hurt me!" He answers, sounding serious at first and then ending with a playful lift to his voice letting her know he’s only playing.

She quickly works up his ribs and then starts to wash his mostly unmarked shoulders, but she knows, no marks doesn’t mean no damage, his shoulders must feel like they’ve been dislocated after he hung from them for so long, so while still being gentle she slowly massages the muscles in the back and sides of his shoulders before turning him under the water to rinse his back while she massages the front shoulder muscles, hoping it will help with the pain as well as relax him.

When she’s finished she rinses the antibacterial soap off his shoulders and turns off the water before going to get one of the black large towels for him and one of the normal ones for herself, wrapping hers around herself before coming back into the shower and starting to carefully dry Eliot with the black one, as she does she catalogues all of the places he’s bleeding from so that she knows where to keep an eye on.

She starts with his back, one lash across the bottom parts of his shoulder blades has torn and he is still a little bloody there, then a lot of crisscrossed lashes over his lower ribs, waist and ass had left lots of small slashes that are still bleeding sluggishly but that should be closed by this evening, and finally he has one on his thigh that only seems to have caught one leg that’s nearly completely sealed.

Next she turns him to face her again and starts to dry his front, he has a trail of small cuts down his right side almost under his arm, where the tail of the whip had wrapped around his body leaving the small cuts, his nipple has nearly closed, the steri-strips having done their job and held the wound together so it healed almost completely closed, he’s only going to have a small scar there by the look of it and finally she comes to dry his dick, gently patting him dry as he tries not to get harder from his now semi-state of hardness, he’s still bleeding a little but a small dressing should fix that problem and help to buffer him from the pain of being laid on his front, not to mention saving him from ripping any scab off when he moves again.

After he’s dry Jayda helps him out of the shower and over to the sinks, allowing him to brush his teeth while she grabs the dressing and applies it to his dick making him grunt in pain when she presses it on hard to make sure it sticks well and doesn’t leak if he bleeds.

When he’s finished brushing his teeth they work their way into the bedroom and Jayda helps Eliot into sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt before quickly getting dried and dressed herself, yawning just as she finishes.

"You ready to go nap on the sofa?" She asks him, knowing that as soon as he gets comfortable he’ll fall asleep to let his werewolf healing take over, which means she’s gonna want to sleep too because being close Pack meant you shared in the toll of healing.

"I don’t really want to sleep, would rather lay with my head in your lap and talk like we did when we were kids... if that’s ok?" He asks, sounding rather unsure of himself, which is so not his usual character but she can only assume it’s because he’s bringing up something associated with his fathers abuse of him.

"Baby if that’s what you want I’m more than happy to do it, do you wanna be on the sofa or the floor?" She asks in return, she had planned to work on her commission while he slept but has no reservations about giving that up to spend time being close to him and talking.

"I think i’d prefer the sofa and I know your butt would! I remember you always complainin' about how you got a numb butt from sittin' on the floor for so long!" He reminds her, forcing her to admit, to herself at least, that she would prefer to be sat on the sofa.

"Do you think you can manage the stairs on your own so I can strip the sheets?" She asks as she rubs his bicep comfortingly.

"I’ll be fine, you do the sheets, I’ll get us some drinks so we won’t need to move much once we’re settled, do you want anything to eat?" He tells her before thinking to ask if she’s hungry.

"No I’m fine, a drink will do, we’ll just have a big lunch, ok?" She answers, getting a nod and a gentle kiss in reply before Eliot starts heading for the stairs.

Once she’s stripped the sheets off the bed and bundled them up she slowly comes down the stairs and then goes down to the laundry room in the basement, quickly putting the sheets on to wash then heads back up to find out how Eliot is getting on.

When she comes around the wall at the back of the kitchen she finds him kneeling on the couch with a look on his face that she instantly decides she’ll think of as his 'constipated' look, his lips pressed together and twisted to show he’s highly uncomfortable, she does feel bad about why he’s pulling the face but she can’t help but smirk in reaction to it as she walks towards him.

"Hey you ready? Got everythin' you want before we settle down?" She asks as she strokes his hair lovingly, making him change his expression to a soft, loving, smile that would have Hardison and Parker staring in disbelief if they saw it.

"I’m ready, got us some water and some of that baklava you made yesterday for us to nibble on, I never realised how good at bakin' you were!" He tells her as he leans in for a gentle, slow, kiss.

Jayda is just about to sit down ready for him to rest his head in her lap when there’s a firm knock on the door making them both look at the door then each other in surprise.

"I’ll get it, you lay down" Jayda says, kissing Eliot on the forehead as she gets back up and goes to the door, straightening her top before opening the door.

"Hey, Jay! How you doin'?" Is all Eliot hears before hearing Jayda squeal and the sound of a scuffle, as he turns he’s shocked to find Jayda being swung around by a Native American man he just about recognises after sixteen years.

The man has a duffle bag hanging from one shoulder and Jayda’s arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he swings her, both of them obviously happy to be seeing each other again.

"Hey Warpath, how you doin'?" Eliot asks, addressing their old friend by his teenaged nick-name to get his attention.

"Eliot! Man, what are you doin' here? Haven’t seen you since high school!" He says with a laugh in his voice as he holds out one of his arms for Eliot to come in for a hug as he hugs Jayda with the other arm.

After a three way hug Eliot pulls back and says "John Proudstar! What are you doin' here?" Smiling even though he’s hurting from where John had wrapped his arm around his back and squeezed him, unknowing of his injuries.

"I asked you first El! I’m here for Christmas, Diwali invited me about a month ago, but he didn’t tell me you’d be here, have you finally pulled your head out your ass and got together with Jay?" John points out before answering the question.

"Well Diwali didn’t know i’d be here until two weeks ago, some things happened and it brought me and Jay together again, we’re gettin' married next year so yeah, I guess I did finally get my head outta my ass, I was a real idiot not bein' with Jay earlier, and when I Claimed her some stuff happened and she’s been Changed, she’s a were now and we’re fully Bonded" Eliot explains as John peels Jayda off his neck and drops his duffle next to the door before walking further into the room and dropping onto one of the couches.

"You’ll have to tell me the whole story it sounds interestin'! I had been plannin' to stay here with cousin Jay but with you here I’m guessin' there ain’t room so I’ll see if Diwali or Ruby has any room, if not I’ll try Abby and see if her couch is free, I’m really happy for you both, congratulations on your engagement! it really is about time you were together" John says, smiling in genuine pleasure at their good news as Eliot thinks 'wait until you hear about Ruby and Quinn'.

"Ruby’s house isn’t habitable at the moment and her, Quinn and the girls are stayin' at dads..." Jayda starts explaining before John interrupts confusedly.

"Hang on... who’s Quinn and where’s Jared? And what happened to Ruby’s house?" He asks looking from one of them to the other with a shocked look on his face.

"Tell you what, how about I get you a drink and we all settle down and we’ll tell you the whole story, then you can decide where you wanna stay" Jayda suggests, waiting for John's nod before going to the fridge and getting him some water then returning and sitting on the couch that Eliot had put their bottles down next to, then settling into the corner and helping Eliot down so his head is in her lap while he lays on his side.

After a considering look from John he settles back and says "so... from the beginnin'..." and they tell him everything that has happened since the day Sarah had been 'abducted', including Eliot’s relationship to her, right up to his knocking on the door unexpectedly.


	4. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John learns what’s been happening to Eliot and Jayda before going over to visit with Diwali, Ruby, Quinn and the girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are again, a new chapter, I’m writing number 16 or 17 at the moment so things aren’t going too bad and I’ve already gotten to the addition of the special guests who are to be in this story, they’ll be popping up quite a bit in future stories so hopefully you’ll like my portrayals of them.
> 
> As always I’m a complete whore for comments and kudos, they feed the muses, and if there’s something you don’t like tell me that too (but try to be kind about it) I can’t get better if you don’t tell me!
> 
> Enough begging from me, enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA/JOHN

"Wow! That is a lot to take in! I can’t believe you never told me about Sarah being Eliot’s, i’d always assumed that someone had forced you and that’s why it was never spoken about... I’m glad to know that’s not the case, and I’m sorry for what you’ve been through and the loss it’s caused you both, neither of you deserve any of that, but you’re here, together, with family, it’s the most right I’ve seen Jay since we were seventeen and you both seem so happy, I really am glad for you finally bein' together, you both deserve the happiness you’re bringin' each other..." John says when they finish talking, the contemplating look he’d been giving them turning into understanding when he hears about the injuries Eliot has from his punishment the night before.

"Thanks John, now knowin' what you do, do you want to stay here or try Abby? We have plenty of sofas here for you to sleep on, or hell, its not like I haven’t got a huge bed we’ll all fit in, so it’s up to you" Jayda asks him, happy for him to stay with them even if it does mean they’ll have to curtail their sexploits while he’s with them.

"If it’s ok I’ll stay here, I don’t like puttin' Abby out" John answers, looking off into the distance as he says it, obviously thinking about their friend that he’s had a crush on for years, Jayda and Eliot exchanging a look and decide that they’re going to do something about that crush, wanting the other pair to be as happy as they are.

"Have you been to see dad yet? He’ll want to know you arrived safe, you know how he worries about us all" Jayda asks, knowing that her father will want to know John's arrived.

"No not yet, came straight here to drop my bag off not knowin' about the change of circumstances, he doesn’t know exactly when I’m meant to arrive so he won’t be worryin'" he tells them as he smiles and stretches.

"Well how about I call and see if he’s around? If not I’m sure the girls would love to see their cousin Thunderbird" Jayda proposes, using the nick-name that John goes by now, making Eliot look up at her and ask "_Thunderbird_?"

"Yeah that’s the nick-name John's friends call him by now, it’s more fittin' since he’s not on the '_Warpath_' any longer, it was also his call sign in the Marines, nothin' like some ingrained racism to help you fit in, _right_ John?" She explains before getting angry on his behalf for the casual racism he’d had to endure for being a Native American in the Marines.

"It’s ok cuz! It’s over and done with now, and I’ve grown to like the nick-name, it sure beats 'Warpath' now I’ve got all the anger out of my system, so stress not ok?" John reassures her, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze in comfort.

"I know, sorry, let me just go call dad and we’ll see what’s happenin'" Jayda replies then slips out from under Eliot’s head, replacing her lap with a cushion, before heading for the phone, leaving Eliot and John to talk.

"So you _Claimed_ her and you’re fully Bonded?" John asks carefully, it being obvious that he’s leading up to something.

"Yeah, I’ve wanted to Claim Jayda for over ten years, as soon as I saw her and I knew she was willin' I Claimed her, although I had no idea it would Change her into a wolf herself, that was a unique consequence because of the other things that happened, she’s the only person this has ever happened to, I thank my lucky stars she doesn’t hate me for it, even if it did help her to survive" Eliot answers, still waiting for John to get to his point.

"You know that if you fuck her over or hurt her _again_ I’m gonna track you down and _kill_ you right? And that’s no idle threat, I WILL _kill_ you for it" John says quietly but with force, making sure Eliot knows that he means every word.

"I know, I don’t _ever_ wanna hurt her, I _love_ her, we’re Mated, Bonded and _soulmates_, I’m never, _ever_ lettin' anythin' come between us, not again, I’m not the stupid kid I was the last time you saw me, just like I’m sure you’re not the angry, violent youth you were back then" Eliot reassures him before adding "if I _was_ to hurt her you wouldn’t have to track me down, i’d come to you and _ask_ you to kill me, I couldn’t live without her by my side now, so don’t worry 'big brother' I’ll never hurt her"

"Good I’m glad to hear it, you know we’ve always been friends, i’d like that to continue, if that’s okay, you’re family now!" John ends their conversation as Jayda comes back, Eliot giving him a small nod in answer before she perches on the edge of the couch in front of his belly.

"Dads home and would love to see you, Ruby, Quinn and the girls are out for now so he says come over and he’ll make a family meal for all of us tonight, did you bring your own truck?" Jayda informs them both before checking John has his own transport.

"Yeah I brought my truck, if it’s ok for me to leave my bag here then I’ll go on over and spend some time with Diwali and see you guys for dinner, that alright?" He asks, getting a nod from Jayda in response he stands up and says his goodbyes to the pair before heading out for Diwali’s house.

ELIOT/JAYDA

"Well _that_ was a surprise!" Eliot says from his prone position on the couch once he hears John start his truck, appreciating that John has gone to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon with Diwali to give him a chance to heal in private, before adding "but when I’m better he’s gonna want some earplugs!"

Jayda gently slaps his jaw in rebuke for the crass implications of his comment and then says "it’s nice to see him again, it’s been a couple of years since he was home, I’m glad dad invited him"

"If it makes you happy I’m glad too, but somethin' he said earlier... he knew you were pregnant?" Eliot asks gently.

"Yeah, he came home to protect me while I was heavily pregnant because dad was worried that I might not be able to protect myself if I needed to, only him, dad, Ruby and Jared ever knew I was pregnant, John did the shoppin' and everythin' else was ordered online, that’s how no one knew, he was there for me when I needed him and he _never_ asked about Sarah’s father, although I know he _wanted_ to, especially after she was born and I gave her to Ruby without holdin' her myself, but he _never_ did, I can never thank him enough for that, for not judgin' me" she explains, her voice turning rough and tear-filled at the memories of being without Eliot when she’d needed him the most.

"Hey, it’s ok, I’m sorry I wasn’t here then, I wish I had been, would give anythin' to be able to change it but I can’t, but I’m here now, and I love you, come lay here with me and we’ll have a cuddle" he tells her, apologising again for not being there even though it had in fact been _her_ fault.

"Ok, you don’t need to apologise, I know it wasn’t your fault, I _know_..." she starts out before Eliot painfully reaches up and pulls her down to lay on the sofa in front of him, her back to his chest as he wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her tight.

He whispers "I love you more than _anythin_' and _nothin_' can be changed about what happened back then so there’s no point to gettin' upset, just lay here and let me hold you and love you for a bit, maybe we’ll have a nap, whaddayasay?" Before kissing her neck and nuzzling at her ear, making her smile in contentment before snuggling back against his chest and letting the comfort of his safe hold on her soothe her to sleep in his arms.

RUBY/QUINN

Ruby has her back to a tree on the edge of the snow covered meadow at the horse farm she owns, panting but trying to be quiet as she catches her breath from the mad dash she’d made for a hiding place, she knows that she can’t stay where she is but she can barely walk anymore, it seems she’s been running and hiding for _hours_, moving from one hiding place to another, starting in the stables, moving out into the snow for a while before hiding in the hay barn, where at least it's warmer, before circling back towards the horse barn, but she’d nearly been caught there so she’d run for it, getting as far as the fence of the property, but then not being able to get over the barbed wire topped fence, or at least not without hurting herself, so she headed back towards the house where her truck is parked, but again she nearly walked right into her persuers making her run back into the trees where she’s now hiding and trying to stay silent so she won’t be found.

She’s just finally calming her breathing when a hand suddenly clamps over her mouth and a hard body wrapped in warm, padded clothes is pressed up against her, making her gasp through her nose in fright before her mouth is assaulted in a brutal kiss, hands sliding up under her coat to grip her hips and grind their bodies against each other harshly, making sure she feels the hardness inside the jeans of her assailant and understands what he intends to do to her with it.

"Please... please let me go... I won’t tell anyone about this... I _promise_..." she begs when his mouth pulls away from hers giving her a chance to speak.

"I can’t be doin' that darlin'" he replies before tangling his hand in her hair and pulling her in for another forceful kiss.

"Now... on your knees for me darlin', want you to be a good girl for me..." he says as he starts to force her downwards into the piled snow with his handful of her hair.

"_Please_ no! Not like this!" She begs again with a thread of panic in her voice, this time getting a speculative look as he allows her to rise back to standing as he removes his hand from her hair then runs it gently down the side of her face.

"Sorry I took it too far..." Sean Quinn murmurs as he leans in to give her a gentle loving kiss, making her melt against him as her body presses up hard against his.

"You didn’t, I’m just worried about the girls catching us..." Ruby answers, her hand slipping into his hair before pulling him down into a passionate kiss.

When their kiss breaks Quinn catches his breath then tells her "the girls are with Bruce, they got tired so I asked him to keep an eye on them while I chased you down, no one’s gonna catch us... if that changes anything" he says with a shrug.

"That changes _everything_... start from 'want you to be a good girl for me...'" she says pulling his hand up into her hair again, Quinn’s eyes going a little wide before a lecherous grin spreads across his face.

"Now... on your knees for me darlin', want you to be a good girl for me..." he repeats, putting on a copy of Eliot’s Midwest accent, then slowly dragging her downwards until she’s kneeling in the snow between him and the tree.

Quinn reaches down with his other hand and palms the bulge in his jeans before taking hold of the zipper and pulling it down, quickly pulling himself free of his jeans and boxers and pulling her head forward until she wraps her mouth around the head of his straining cock.

Ruby holds him in her mouth for a moment before licking at his slit and moaning at the taste then sucking the head first gently then harder to try to find what he likes.

She’s just moving down his length when they both suddenly hear "Mommy! Daddy! Where are you!" Coming from just around the tree.

Quinn whispers "_shit_!" In response and pulls back out of Ruby’s mouth quickly, catching the ridge of his head on her teeth making him pull in a gasp of pain as he turns his back to Ruby and the tree just as Jane and Sarah come around from the other side of it looking for them.

"Girls! What are you doing out here? We thought you were with Bruce!" Ruby asks as Quinn puts himself away, Ruby hoping that she has all of both girls attention, but she’s not so lucky.

"Why is daddy facing the other way? Jane asks, looking at the way his arms are moving and adding "is he peeing?"

To Ruby’s surprise she doesn’t get the chance to answer as Quinn does as he turns around "Yeah I had been peeing but I’m done now" his face somehow both pale and scarlet at the same time.

"Can we go home? We like bein' with Bruce and the horses but we’re cold and tired and want some cocoa if that’s ok?" Sarah asks, as usual being the spokesperson for them both.

"Sure Bug, we’ll take you and Tazzie back to your grandfather's house and we’ll have some cocoa and a snack, wanna watch a movie too?" Quinn asks, getting enthusiastic nods from both the girls.

"C’mon then, we’ll let Bruce know we’re leaving and then we’ll go back, but did you girls enjoy your game, playing hide and seek Quinn’s way?" She asks them, this new version being about tracking the other people rather than just trying to get lucky on hiding places.

"Yes!" Both girls answer with big grins, the game obviously having been a big hit with them both, making Ruby smile as the four of them trudge through the snow in the meadow so they can get to the horse barn Bruce is in.

After saying goodbye to Bruce, Quinn asks Ruby to drive them back, explaining very quietly into her ear in a whisper that his dick is throbbing something fierce from where he got caught on her teeth and he thinks driving would be excruciatingly painful right now, making her instantly agree and get behind the wheel, quickly getting them back to their temporary home.

**********************************************************************************

JOHN/DIWALI/RUBY/QUINN/THE GIRLS

When they arrive at Diwali’s house they’re both surprised to see a truck they don’t know parked in front of the house, Quinn instantly tells Ruby and the girls "let me go in first, keep behind me just in case there’s trouble" waiting until all three nod before letting them out of the truck.

The four of them head to the house together and wait while Quinn opens the back door into the kitchen, as he does he catches sight of Diwali sat at the dining table with another Native American man about the same age as Quinn himself that he doesn’t know but who doesn’t appear to be a threat.

As the door opens wider the girls suddenly push past his legs and go running towards the stranger shouting "cousin Thunderbird!" The man catches them both up in his arms as he stands and swings them around before sitting down with one of them on each knee and starting to talk to them in  _Tsalagi_, and Quinn can’t help but notice how built the guy is and it’s obviously muscle that gets used, not just for show.

"Who is this guy? Is he family?" Quinn asks Ruby who is smiling widely at the sight of the girls talking with the visitor.

"He’s called John, or Thunderbird, he's Jayda’s cousin, they’re both the only blood relative the other has, even though Jayda was adopted at two dad made sure they were kept in contact and they’re really close, almost more like brother and sister but not quite, there’s always been something between them... I think if she hadn’t been so in love with Eliot maybe they would have been together, but he sees me as a cousin slash little sister, he’s always looked out for me, for us both, and as you can see the girls love him, he’s close to dad as well, he never knew anything about his father and his mom wouldn’t tell him so dad was there for him as an uncle come surrogate father, when his mom died he lived here for a while before he joined the Marines, there were five of us who were a group when we were teens, Jay, El, Abby, John and me, until Jared decided he wanted me and then he worked on separating me from them, mostly because he hated Eliot and John, he didn’t like Jay much either, but John comes to visit when he can and he loves the girls, he’s very protective of them, so don’t worry, he’s a friend, and when he knows what you saved me from and how well you treat me he’ll love you too" Ruby explains to him as they stand just inside the kitchen watching John and the girls talking.

"C’mon! time to be introduced!" Ruby says, taking hold of Quinn’s arm and dragging him across to the dining table.

"Hi! You must be Quinn! I’m John, Jayda and Ruby’s cousin" John introduces himself, holding out a hand to shake over the heads of the girls as he grins up at Quinn.

"Yeah nice to meet you, are you here for the wedding?" Quinn asks, wondering what brought John to visit right now.

"What weddin'?" John asks looking confused before he adds "Diwali invited me to come for Christmas about a month ago, what’s this about a weddin'?" Eliot and Jayda having left that bit of news out on purpose so Ruby could have the thrill of telling him all about it.

"Oh, well, me and Ruby are getting married on New Year’s Eve, you’re welcome to join us being family and all, I know Ruby would love that" Quinn answers as he wraps his arm around Ruby’s waist, Ruby smiling hugely and nodding along with Quinn’s comment.

"Jay and El never told me! Congratulations! I would be honoured to stay for the weddin' if that’s ok? I’m so proud of you little sister!" He exclaims, his grin matching Ruby’s as the girls start to squirm on Johns lap, wanting their cocoa and snack that Quinn had promised them.

"Listen i’d promised the girls cocoa, a snack and a movie, I’ll supply them with their goods and sit with them while they watch the movie, give you guys a chance to catch up together in peace" Quinn proposes, Diwali and John agreeing instantly while Ruby looks unsure.

"Are you sure you want to? You don’t have to..." Ruby asks him quietly, Quinn leaning down to kiss her gently to calm her mood before he answers.

"I’m more than happy to, you know I love my cuddle time with the girls, even if I do have to watch the little mermaid _again_, I love you, enjoy catching up ok?" Quinn answers quietly before kissing her again just as softly and slowly as before.

"C’mon girls cocoa and a snack while you watch a movie! Leave your mommy, grandfather and cousin John to talk in private while we have some cuddle time, what do you think?" He asks, both the girls wriggling off Johns lap and following Quinn over to the main part of the kitchen while he starts on their cocoa and the other adults start talking and catching up on the news of the last few years.


	5. Showering in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot becomes the subject of some art and he and Jayda have some quiet alone time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the new chapter, sorry it’s a few days later than usual, I had my flu jab and it’s knocked me for six, my CFC is going crazy and I’ve got this weird writers block that’s stopping me from writing more than one paragraph at a time and I’m writing three stories at once! So my rhythm is completely fucked, but anyway here’s a chapter for you, remember kudos are only polite and comments are love that make it all worthwhile for the writer (and it’s nice to know *someone* is reading and hopefully enjoying the story) so don’t forget to leave one or both!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot wakes Jayda with kisses to the back of her neck and gentle words of love whispered into her ear, she awakens still laid down on the edge of the couch with him behind her, holding her in place to keep her safe as he hugs her.

"El? What time is it?" She asks, her usually spot-on internal body clock completely out of whack from this afternoon nap after a night of very little sleep.

"About four twenty, your dad just texted to say dinner will be ready in about two hours, I figured we could shower again and check my wounds before gettin' dressed and goin' over, what do you think?" He answers before going back to nibbling the back of her neck seductively.

"I think maybe you could do with a _cold_ shower!" She replies when she feels his half hard dick against her ass before adding "But yeah I think that’s a good plan, so let me up and we’ll get you up the stairs again, by the way, I love you too"

He grudgingly lets go of her but keeps a steadying hand on her as she sits up and then stands, not wanting her to fall off the side of the couch while moving around, once she’s on her feet he turns onto his hands and knees and gets up from that position, putting his arm around her a little stiffly he pulls her in for a kiss before saying "after you, darlin'"

They slowly make their way across the room and up the stairs, Eliot moving a little easier than earlier but still not anywhere near back to his usual fluid, fighting, grace, his movements feel and look clunky, like a rusted piece of machinery that’s been restarted after years of no use.

Once they’re in the bedroom Jayda carefully strips Eliot before checking over the wounds on his back, all but a couple have closed although they all still look red and angry, the deep bruises around them starting to show through the skin making his back a huge swirl of colour cut through with bright red lines, it almost looks like art, and that gives Jayda an idea.

"Can you just wait there for me? Give me two minutes" she says going into her closet and rummaging for a minute before coming out with a very nice professional camera.

"What’s _that_ for?" Eliot asks, really not wanting his suffering to be immortalised in picture form, the scars would be more than reminder enough, especially the one on his dick.

"I want to take a photo of your back, I do photography shows as well as pencil and painted art and there is somethin' about the way you look right now that is speakin' to that part of me, can I take the photos?" She explains, Eliot doesn’t have the will to say no to her after she’s explained it like that so gives her the go ahead.

"Sure, how do you want me?" He asks, getting manoeuvred over to the blank wall and pressed against it lightly, a few pictures taken like that then a few of him painfully twisting to the right with his arm behind his head showing all the marks down the side of his ribs while successfully hiding his face, she then asks him to stand back against the wall again and hold his hands behind his back as if he was in cuffs, showing off his cut wrists as well as his back before finally she has him stretch his arms up as close to the position he was in when he was whipped as he can get and takes just a couple of those before putting her camera back down and helping him lower his arms that had locked up in that position.

Once Eliot’s back to standing normally Jayda says "I think you could do with your shoulders properly massagin' while you’re under the hot water, it’ll hurt but I think it’ll help, do you want me to do that for you after I’ve washed your back?"

"Yeah I think that’d be nice, love your hands on me,_ even when it hurts_" he says with a small smirk, encouraging her to wrap her arms around him and hug him gently, she knows it only makes him hurt a little but she can’t help testing his sincerity, she’s surprised when he wraps his arms around her and squeezes her quite tightly, showing her he really meant what he said.

"C’mon then, let’s go shower" Eliot says as he lets go of her with one arm, the other staying wrapped around her as they head to the bathroom together.

Once they’re both in the shower Jayda washes Eliot’s chest, taking a good look at the now closed wound on his nipple, checking that the scar will be as small as possible and that it’s not going to bleed again before turning him around, and starting from his thighs upwards washes all the lash marks and welts from the night before whilst being as gentle as she can be against the bruises, she finds that all but two are fully sealed now and those last two will probably be closed by bedtime, making her breathe a sigh of relief that they won’t have to worry about them anymore apart from treating the pain for the deeper injuries that have been caused, finally Jayda turns Eliot again so she can check his last wound, the dressing she’d put on his dick earlier is now hanging off thanks to the hot water and she peels it the rest of the way off and drops it to the shower floor as she takes a hold of Eliot’s dick and leans over to get a good look at the wound.

"Well, it’s healed apart from that one spot it’s been bleedin' from, I think even that should be healed over by mornin' but I’ll put another dressin' on just so you don’t bleed onto the bed again and hurt yourself, how does it feel?" She asks still holding him, in reply he thrusts his hips towards her making her hand stroke along his length and moans telling her exactly what’s on his mind.

"Yes _very_ clever Spencer, but seriously how is it feelin'?" She insists, letting go of him and finding that his dick is now at half-mast where before it had been soft.

"It’s ok, it feels weird while I’m gettin' hard because it’s pullin' in a strange way but apart from that it’s good, good enough for us to try if you wanna..." he answers before pulling her in against his chest and kissing her hungrily.

When they break apart Jayda moans "El... _please_ don’t tease me... want you so bad, but it’s still.... oohhhh..." before being cut off by his teeth nipping her bond scar and his hand slipping between her legs so his fingertips can brush over her clit.

"Not teasin', I might not be able to lift you and hold you against the wall while I have you but I can press you up against the wall and have you while you’re standin', if that’s what you want?" He growls against her neck, offering her exactly what she wants but knows she shouldn’t have.

"What about the cut? It’ll start bleedin' again and maybe split apart again, then it’ll scar even worse, we shouldn’t... no matter how much I want you..." she says before letting out another moan that goes straight to his cock as he fits his teeth right over the Bond scar and squeezes while he rubs his cock up against her hip gently but urgently.

"Is that a no? Because if it’s a 'yes but we shouldn’t' then I’m goin' to do it, I need you, but if it’s a no say so now..." he asks, his voice so growl filled that it’s making her bones vibrate as he begs her for a definitive answer, all the time rubbing her clit, playing with her clit ring and stimulating her Bond scar.

"Oh, Eliot! I... we shouldn’t... but I want you... _yes_!" She whimpers as he brings her to orgasm, and he knows the yes might have been a reaction to that rather than his question but he’s going to take it as a yes either way.

He kisses along her shoulder and slides his hand back out from between her legs, using that hand to take hold of her hip and slowly turn her to face the wall of the shower, pressing her face-first up against the tiles until her nipples are pressed flat against them before moving behind her and nibbling at the back of her neck making her sigh and moan as her braced left hand comes up over her shoulder and rests on the back of his head, encouraging him without words as her right hand comes back and grabs a handful of his ass, pulling his body towards her insistently.

Eliot wastes no time now that he has her consent and pulls her hips back a little making her spine curve so her ass sticks out and her pussy pouts out from between her thighs, quickly sliding two fingers inside her just to confirm she’s wet and ready for him, although why he bothers he’s not really sure, she’s always ready and wet for him, he’s never known another woman like her!.

Once his fingers are inside her he slowly pumps them in and out a few times, as always amazed at just how wet for him she always is, then he bends his fingers so his abused and scarred knuckles rub over her G-spot and make her gasp with enjoyment as his thumb flicks her clit ring firmly.

"Please El, don’t _tease_... I need you... need you to fill me now... need to feel you joined with me... _please_..." she begs as she gasps and pants, her breathing laboured and erratic even though he’s barely touched her yet and that just serves to turn him on even more, so with a deep growling groan he pulls his fingers free and rubs his cock over the backs of her thighs, spreading precum across them and making her moan in answering arousal.

After a few thrusts up against her thighs Eliot bends his knees slightly and pushes the head of his cock up against her entrance, he can feel the two piercings on either side press against the sides of the head of his cock and it feels so stimulating that he pushes harder against her entrance than he means to and that means he slams into her, his full length all the way to his balls until his head hits her cervix, that makes him yelp in pain where the wound in his slit is suddenly slammed hard against the firm flesh.

At his yelp she tries to move forwards away from him so she can turn and check he’s ok but he holds her still, in place, making sure she doesn’t move an inch as he pulls back just a little and pants against the back of her neck trying to control the pain so he can get back to the pleasure.

Within moments he has a grip on the harsh pain in his dick and starts moving again but he lets the pain from his back run free as it’s stimulating his pain/pleasure sense and it’s making the pleasure even more _intense_.

As he thrusts he moves his hands up from her hips to her breasts, thumbing at her nipples before squeezing them with his fingertips, making her moan loudly under the water of the shower as he quickly pumps into her, feeding both their pleasure centres.

"Jay... gods you feel so good... always want you around me... squeezin' me... clenchin' on me... want you to cum again, show me how much you like what I’m doin' to you..." he pants against the side of her neck, barely able to breathe between the pleasure of making love to Jayda and the steam from the shower.

"Oh El yes!... you always feel so right inside me... made to fit there... like a puzzle piece... you make my picture, my life, whole... give me so much pleasure... can’t help tightenin' down on you and cummin' over and over again... already so _close_..." she gasps out, having to stop speaking every time he thrusts into her as she presses back from the wall to stop herself face-planting into it.

As he continues to thrust into her she intentionally tightens down and squeezes his length, giving them both maximum pleasure as she hurtles towards the edge of her orgasm, making her let out squeaking grunts with every thrust into her he makes, before long her internal muscles convulse and clench down on him tightly, making them both cry out as she soaks his length in her juices as she struggles to keep standing.

"Oh! Oh Eliot! _Yes!_ Always so good! Always make me cum! Please don’t stop, want us both to cum!" She cries out in a series of exclamations, boosting his ego and making him determined to fulfil her request, making them both cum as close together as he can possibly manage.

He grips her breasts tighter, using his full hands to massage the full breast as he uses his grip to pull her tight against his chest rather then leave her slightly leaned forward away from himself, once her back is plastered to his chest he moves his hand down to her pussy and quickly has his fingers burrowing through her pubic hair so that he can press over her clit and rub, bringing her more pleasure, that makes her tighten down, which brings him more pleasure with every thrust into her, and every thrust is getting harder and harsher, slamming into her with abandon as he chases their mutual orgasm while she squeaks and gasps with every thrust.

"Yeah, gonna get us both there... want you to cum for me... soak me with your cum..." he growls into her ear as he presses hard on her clit as he rubs it fast and hard, catching the clit ring on most passes.

"Yes! Oh yes! Gonna... gonna... Elllll..." she shouts out his name as she cums, locking down on his length and clenching so tightly around the head his orgasm slams into him like a runaway freight train.

"Ah... ah... yes! Aaaahhhhhhh!" Eliot shouts as she forces him to follow her over the edge, biting her hard on the neck with his extended teeth before he shouts out in pain as his cum forcefully spurts out of him, covering the cut in his slit and letting him know just how bad it is with the pain it induces.

As soon as he’s cum he lets go of her breast and brings his other hand up from her pussy so that he can wrap both arms around her gently but tightly as he hugs her while his whole body shakes in reaction to the pain he’s feeling, wanting to show her love and affection as he tries to control the pain he’s in, he strokes her stomach and the undersides of her breasts, her hipbones and her lower ribs, everywhere he can reach without moving his arms from around her while he kisses her ear and all along her neck and onto her shoulder before nipping her gently on her scar making her knees shake again which isn’t a good thing since she’s the only thing holding him up.

"Don’t do that El! Or next thing you know I’ll be on the floor and you’ll have a broken dick!" Jayda exclaims, trying to warn him how unsteady she feels when he bites and nips her scar after he’s given her an orgasm or three.

"Sorry darlin', I was just showin' you affection, didn’t mean to make you feel unsteady" he answers her, kissing the scar gently before ticklingly running his lips up her neck to her ear again then leaning further forward over her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

She pats his hands gently before hugging his arms tight where they are wrapped around her and snuggling back into his chest before saying "we should get your dick washed and get us both out of the shower, get ready and go to dads for dinner, you start..."

Eliot sighs out through his nose right down her ear and slowly pulls his still hard cock out of her gently, hissing in pain as her tight entrance squeezes his head, making the cut in the slit sting again but kisses the back of her neck once he’s clear and just pressed up against her ass.

"C’mon baby, lets get you washed and I’ll give myself a quick scrub and we’ll get out ok?" She suggests as she turns in his arms and kisses him slowly but passionately.

"Yeah ok, get you clean and dressed nice and warm, darlin'? Can I make love to you when we get home? I know Wa... I mean John, will be downstairs but I need you darlin'" Eliot asks softly, knowing Jayda is likely to say no because of the wound on his dick but he just has to ask, he wants her that bad again already.

"I... we’ll see how your injuries are doin' when we get back, I’m _not_ promisin' anythin' either way, just let me check your wounds and decide then, ok?" Jayda replies, not sure what she’ll answer when the time comes but buying some time for now.

"Ok, no problem, let’s get you washed then" he agrees before taking hold of her body wash and starting to massage her breasts.

She smiles up at him indulgently at his choice of starting point but allows him to wash her, when he’s finished washing her and rinsing her off she grabs the antibacterial soap and gently washes his still half-hard dick, checking that neither of the two wounds on it are bleeding, although he does swear when she rubs some of the soap into the slit to clean that wound, his hands tightening on her shoulders painfully for just a few seconds in reaction.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you... let me rinse the soap off and it’ll stop stingin'" she says, cupping her hands to catch some of the water and hold it up so the head of his now flaccid dick is submerged in the water, rinsing the soap out of the slit and easing his discomfort.

"It’s ok, the stingin' is fadin' now..." he tells her as he loosens his grip on her shoulders, starting to massage them to help her relax.

"Ok, c’mon, let go, we’ll get dried and dressed and go have dinner with our whole family" she tells him as he changes from massaging her shoulders to holding them to help her stand back up.

"Ok, let me get you a towel... should I use a black one again?" He asks, not wanting to use the wrong towel and piss her off as she turns off the water and moves to step out of the shower.

"Whichever you prefer is fine baby, just get my towel quickly!" She says as she shivers now she’s not under the hot water any longer but Eliot does as he’s told and quickly has a towel wrapped around her before even getting one for himself, leaning down for a quick kiss before turning to get himself a towel.

They both quickly dry off but before they leave the room Jayda insists on putting a new dressing on to the now small cut on Eliot’s dick and once that’s done she takes a very careful look at the wound in his slit, it looks sore but doesn’t seem to have split any further so she decides to count their shower loving as a win.

They quickly dress in jeans and long sleeve shirts and sweaters, adding big boots and warm coats as it’s snowing again, along with gloves and hats, once they’re ready Eliot goes into the kitchen and shouts "What’s your dad makin'?" To Jayda as she puts the harness on Wahya.

"I dunno, he didn’t tell me, why?" She answers distractedly as she wrestles with the harness.

"I was gonna take some wine but it’s hard to pair it when you don’t know what the meal is" Eliot tells her as he gives up and just grabs a dessert wine figuring that will go with any dessert.

"Right let’s go, with the snow like this we’re gonna be drivin' at joggin' speed so we better set off now" he says as he leads Jayda and Wahya to the door and lets them out, he locks up the house behind himself and bundles them all into the truck before setting off for Diwali’s house and the family he’s missed being part of for so long.


	6. Fighting the truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Quinn argue while John settles back into being part of the family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry I didn’t post earlier but I’ve been feeling kinda strange lately, not to mention I’m writing three different stories for this series at the same time so my attention is all over the place, but to prove how sorry I am I’m giving you two chapters tonight, one of family fluff (this one) and one of porn (the next one) so I hope you enjoy them both!
> 
> Remember if there’s something you wanna see let me know and kudos and comments feed the muses so please help stop the little bastards from rattling their cages, it’ll help me work better.
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA/QUINN/RUBY/DIWALI/JOHN/THE GIRLS

Pulling up in the last space outside Diwali’s house Eliot sets the handbrake as he switches off the truck before leaning across the seats and kissing Jayda deeply, pulling her across the seat towards him he wraps his arms around her tightly and spends a good ten minutes kissing her and holding her, showing her how much he loves her and wants to be with her.

"We should go in..." she pants when he releases her from their kiss, letting her catch her breath a little before he answers.

"In a bit, wanna kiss you and love you and.... maybe touch you a little..." he says in a deep rumble, making it obvious how turned on he is before kissing her passionately again, manoeuvring her so she’s half laid against the door of the truck as he rubs at her slit through her jeans while he rubs against her thigh, the kiss keeping them both occupied as they both get just a little hot and sweaty.

"_No_... El.... we _can’t_ do this now, I don’t want to go in there with a wet patch on the crotch of my jeans, _please_ stop..." Jayda tells him, his hand going still when she says _no_ and withdrawing when she says _stop_, he never wants to touch her against her will, so he slowly backs away and helps her to sit up and rearrange the clothes he’d pushed and pulled out of his way, making her look presentable again before they climb out of the truck, getting a bored looking Wahya from the backseat next to the wine and heading for the kitchen door quickly because of the snow.

When they burst through the back door into the kitchen they’re instantly surrounded by _wonderfully_ scented heat, the kitchen being warm from the oven and hob being in use and the amazing smells coming from what’s cooking making all their mouths water.

Once they’re in and Eliot and Jayda have taken off their boots and coats they free Wahya of his harness and he runs off into the house, seconds later they hear Sarah’s happy exclamation as he _pounces_ on her playfully and the laughter of everyone else in the living room.

Eliot puts down the bottle of wine on the counter as they walk through to the living room with their arms around each other, hugging as they go and when they turn the corner into the room they are greeted with grins and catcalls, they move to the sofa since Ruby and Quinn have claimed the snuggle chair (how _dare_ they!) and once they’re sat curled up together next to John Ruby asks pointedly "did you _lose_ something?"

Jayda looks at her sister confused by her question and asks "_what_? What are you talkin' about? What do you think I’ve lost?"

Ruby smirks and replies "well you _were_ parked out there a good _twenty minutes_, figured you must have lost a contact or _something_..." before Quinn breaks into giggles that he smothers against her neck at the identical looks Jayda and Eliot shoot her way.

"_Ruby_! We were just talkin', you know, that thing _adults_ do?" Jayda snipes back, absolutely mortified that everyone knew they’d been out there for so long doing... _something._

"Now girls enough! Be nice to each other, _Ruby_, if Jayda wants to sit in a cold truck instead of a warm house that’s up to her and her Mate, and _Jayda_, no need to snark at your sister" Diwali intervenes between the adult sisters while shaking his head in reproach.

"Sorry father" the two women chorus in perfect stereo as they both look down at the floor in mild shame, each of them being stroked and held by their respective lovers.

"Now who has a _safe_ topic of conversation?" Diwali asks, not wanting for there to be any more squabbling between members of his close-knit family.

"_I’ve_ got a question for _Jayda_!" Ruby sing-songs from her place wrapped in Quinn’s arms making Diwali frown at her.

"_Ruby_... I said a safe topic of conversation! Stop trying to nettle Jayda!" Diwali warns her as his frown pulls down even more.

"But I want to ask her about the _new_ ring she’s wearing!" Ruby says defiantly as she points at Jayda’s left hand to prove her point to her father.

"Very well... tell us about your new jewellery Jayda" Diwali asks in an effort to stop his daughters from sniping verbally at each other.

"Um... well... the other day, _Eliot_... he asked me to marry him! We’re gettin' married on the 21st December next year... _surprise_!" Jayda says with a blush as she takes hold of Eliot’s hand and smiles radiantly.

"Congratulations!" Says Diwali coming over to her and bending over to kiss her forehead before shaking Eliot’s hand with a pointed look Eliot chooses to think means 'treat her well and keep her safe, or _else_!' Making him nod in silent answer as they shake hands.

"Hey! _About time_!" John laughs out as he leans in and kisses Jayda before clapping Eliot on the shoulder in encouragement, causing Eliot to wince and flinch away from John's hand because of the pain that flares from the light blow.

"Oh Jay! I’m so _happy_ for you!" Ruby cries out, wriggling off her chair and coming to hug Jayda before she kisses Eliot’s cheek and adds "about time you _jackass_!" To him making him blush hotly.

"El man, so happy for you both!" Quinn says, staying on the chair as everyone is bunched around Eliot and Jayda and he knows there’s no room for him to get in and hug everyone right now.

After all the adults have had their say the two girls crowd up by Jayda and Eliot’s knees and ask to see the ring, ooohing and aaahing over it and hugging both of them in congratulation before Sarah asks "mommy can I be a bridesmaid?"

Jayda looks down at her and Eliot’s daughter, who’s looking up at her with eyes the match of her fathers, and smiles softly before answering "Oh I don’t think so Bug,... I was thinkin' more like my maid of honour? If you want to?" 

At first Sarah’s face falls thinking she’s being told no but then she lights up incandescently when her mother asks her to be a more important part of her parents wedding "Yes! Can I? _Please_?" Sarah asks unable to believe it.

"Yes _really_! We want you to be a big part of our weddin', you are our daughter after all" Jayda replies, smiling in return at how thrilled Sarah seems at the idea "and you Jane, how about being my flower girl, would that be ok?" She adds when she sees how left out she looks.

Jane opens her mouth but nothing comes out for a moment then she bursts out with "Do you _promise_? Is it ok mommy?" Asking her mother’s permission even as Jayda nods that the offer is real.

Everyone watches the girls get excited and celebratory while they hug Jayda and Eliot before settling down on the floor to chatter about what they want their dresses for the wedding to look like.

"_So_... am I invited to your weddin'?" John asks quietly, not sure that he’s close enough family to be invited if they want a small wedding.

"Of course we’d like you there! You’re _family_!" Eliot answers, surprising John as he’d expected Jayda to be the one who answered.

John grins in response and says "at least I don’t have to be best man!" Making Eliot realise he’s going to have to choose between Quinn and Hardison for the role of best man.

"_Dammit_ Hardison!" He lets out under his breath, earning him a quizzical look from Jayda as colour again rises to his cheeks at his embarrassment from saying it out loud unintentionally.

At this point Diwali announces dinner is ready and they all move through to the dining area and settle down to eat the meal that Diwali has been slaving over since lunchtime when he knew John had arrived.

As they eat they talk about both the weddings and plans that have been made, then the talk turns to Christmas and what everyone is doing to get the food ready in time, including Eliot promising to make the pies and rolls tomorrow before starting on whatever else can be made in advance, then as the meal finishes John mentions Eliot’s punishment and the table goes silent because Quinn and Ruby hadn’t been told it was happening.

"El? They '_punished_' you? What did they do?" Quinn asks with his blank hitters face firmly masking what he thinks.

"Quinn _listen_... it’s ok, I _knew_ I had to face Pack justice... I agreed to the punishment, Jay and Diwali would never have let it go too far..." Eliot starts before being overrode by Quinn.

"What did they _do_ Eliot?" Quinn growls out between clenched teeth before putting his clenched fists on the table.

"It was _nothing_..." Eliot starts, trying to evade before Quinn growls at him and his mouth closes with a snap, he takes a deep breath and then continues "they whipped me with a bullwhip, nothing life threatening...."

At this Jayda snorts unintentionally then when she realises everyone is now looking at her says defensively "tell them the rest too Eliot"

"Fine, the bullwhip is made of metal and is electrified, I got more lashes than a normal were because as _True Alpha_ I’m held to a higher standard, but I’m _ok_, the cuts have already closed except for two or three, it’s just the deep bruising I have to deal with now, it’s _nothing_ I can’t handle" Eliot replies, looking at Jayda with a pissed expression before turning back to Quinn and using an earnest expression to try to make him believe what he’s saying.

"How _many_ lashes?" Quinn asks, his hands now clenching and unclenching on the table while the girls huddle against Ruby’s side scared at the anger and potential for violence they can sense from Quinn.

"_Quinn_... it doesn’t matter... I’m fine... it’s over with... please calm down, you’re scaring the girls..." Eliot answers, using every reason he can not to tell Quinn the truth.

"Outside Eliot, _now_!" Quinn demands, making it obvious that this is not a request but something he either does under his own power or under Quinn’s.

Eliot looks around the table and slowly gets to his feet, John goes to rise but Diwali takes hold of his arm and stops him whispering "_don’t_, you get between those two and you’ll get hurt, when Jayda follows go with her, she’ll need you to hold her back"

Eliot heads for the back door, putting on his boots but not his coat he stands there waiting for Quinn, once Quinn has joined him and also put his boots on they go out into the blowing snow, Jayda instantly gets up from the table, followed by John and they go to put their boots on, its then that Ruby asks "are they going to _kill_ each other?" Which makes the girls start to cry, they don’t want to see either man hurt and on top of the scare they’ve had it’s a bit too much.

Jayda looks at her sister and says "_no_, that’s not how this works, they’ll try and talk it out, then if that _doesn’t_ work they’ll have a brawl that they’ll most likely both come out of bloody but they won’t hurt each other any worse than that, I’ve gotta go make sure they’re ok" before exiting the kitchen with John hot on her heels, Ruby looks at her father who just shrugs, not sure what this is about.

Eliot walks through the heavy snowfall until he can see the light from the windows of the house but can’t see the actual house any longer through the blizzard that is swirling around him, he stops and pulls Quinn up against himself, leaning in to talk to him so he can be heard over the wind.

"What’s the deal _Quinn_? What’s _wrong_?" Eliot asks, holding Quinn by the upper arms as they both try not to be blown about by the wind.

"_How_ could you let them do something so _barbaric_ to you? Why would you let them? And you still never answered my question, how _many_ lashes?" Quinn demands, his anger making him shout louder against the wind than he needs to.

"These are _our_ ways Quinn, the punishment is the same for _any_ were who takes a human life, it has to be harsh to work as a real deterrent, for a normal wolf the sentence would be _twenty five_ lashes, for me, because I’m held to a higher standard, and I can take more, my punishment was _fifty lashes_, I passed out for the last ten..." Eliot finally tells him, wanting to hold the information back but knowing that if he doesn’t tell him Caleb will when asked.

Eliot expects Quinn to either rant at him about the brutality of it or punch him for allowing it to be done to him, what he’s not expecting is Quinn wrapping his arms around him and holding him tightly against the other mans chest, Eliot just sees a glimpse of Jayda over Quinn’s shoulder through the blowing snow before Quinn’s hands cup Eliot’s face and he kisses him gently but passionately, slowly sliding his tongue into Eliot’s mouth as he tastes and then claims Eliot’s mouth for his own.

The kiss goes on for a long time, Eliot not fighting for dominance or freedom like he usually would, he can sense this isn’t about sex, this is about genuine love and terror for the safety of another and he doesn’t have the heart to fight it, even though he knows Jayda is stood watching and it’s gonna take some explaining later, but he thinks she’ll understand, he hopes so anyway.

When their kiss finally ends Quinn pulls his head back enough he can rest his forehead against Eliot’s and says "don’t you _ever_ let anyone do something like that to you _ever_ again, I might not be able to be _with_ you but I know I couldn’t live without you now, don’t make me try, _please_, and don’t do it to Jayda now she finally has you after all those years of waiting, she deserves _better_ than this kind of thing" after he’s finished speaking his hand slips into Eliot’s hair and pulls him in for another kiss which after a few minutes he jerks back from as if he’d just been electrocuted.

Quinn turns at the feel of someone grabbing his shoulder and is slightly horrified to come face to face with Jayda, with John just behind her scowling ferociously.

"_Jay_! I... it’s _not_ what you guys think!" Quinn starts as he looks into Jayda’s eyes, but he can see in her eyes she’s not mad, she understands, and once she’s sure he’s seen that in her eyes she leans in and says "you two come with us, the four of us need to have a _talk_ in private, we’ll use my truck" waiting for Quinn’s nod before looking at Eliot and gesturing with her head for him to follow her, then she turns and takes hold of John's bicep and leads him towards the front of the house.

They trek through the snow to the front of the house and Jayda unlocks her truck, climbing in behind the wheel and waiting for the three men to join her, she shivers and turns the heating on since she’s having to stay outside in the cold.

When all three men are in the truck and the doors are closed Eliot starts to speak "_Jay, I didn’t_..." he gets out before she talks over him.

"_Eliot_, it’s ok, I _know_ you didn’t, I’m not _angry_, _Quinn_, tell me why you felt the need to..." Jayda says softly, obviously trying to gentle the two men and get them both calm before she tries to calm John down so he’ll keep this a secret.

Quinn takes a deep breath before he opens his mouth to answer "I... El told me about how _bad_ the _punishment_ was, told me _nearly_ all of it I think, when he’d finished it was too much for me to bare, that he’d _allowed_ them to do that to him... I kissed him because I came so close to _losing_ him from my life, something I couldn’t bare, then I _begged_ him to promise that he wouldn’t _ever_ allow someone to do something like that to him again,_ no matter what_, because _I_ couldn’t bare it and _you_ didn’t deserve to have to risk losing him when you only just got him, then I continued kissing him until _you_ took hold of my shoulder, I _thought_ you were going to punch me, and when you didn’t I thought _John_ would, I’m _sorry_ Jayda, I didn’t mean to break our agreement" he says all this then leans back in his seat next to Eliot who has a hand on his shoulder in support.

"_Is_ that how it happened Eliot?" She asks, not thinking Quinn was lying but wanting to double check the details before she tells the men what she thinks.

"That’s _exactly_ how it happened, I could have fought him off but I sensed that he _needed_ the connection, to _know_ I was alive and safe, it _wasn’t_ in any way sexual, it was about genuine love and terror for the safety of another, what he said about you was 'don’t do it to Jayda now she _finally_ has you after all those years of waitin', she deserves _better_ than this kind of thing' and he was right about that, and that’s everythin'" Eliot replies repeating both his own thoughts and Quinn’s words verbatim.

"Ok, like Quinn said this broke the agreement, you _both_ **promised** nothin' was goin' to happen between you again, now as far as it goes from my point of view I _don’t_ mind so long as I know, preferably in advance, but I’m _not_ happy about you doin' this to Ruby, she deserves _better_, what if she’d followed me without us knowin'? So this is your _final_ warnin' Quinn, you do this again and Ruby will _have_ to know... _some_ of it at least, you understand me?" Jayda informs the men, when it’s obvious she’s finished speaking John sits forward and twists to look at the other two men who’re in the back seat.

"Anyone wanna _explain_ what’s goin' on? Because it looks to me like y’all are cheatin' on my cousins and while Jayda don’t seem to care y’all are keepin' it _secret_ from Ruby who fuckin' well deserves _better_!" John says, starting off pretty calm but shouting by the end while Eliot and Quinn sit in the backseat and look like a pair of guilty kids.

"John, me and Quinn have been attracted to each other for as long as we’ve known each other, it’s never gone further than a kiss, even then only once before tonight, but we didn’t tell Ruby because she’s been through _so_ _much_ already and it’s not like Quinn would _ever_ cheat on her, he loves her that much, this _wasn’t_ about sex, at all, it was about affirmin' life and safety, and yeah it might not have been the best way for Quinn to go about it but I _understand_ why he needed to, this _wasn’t_ cheatin' on Ruby,... have you ever been in a situation where someone you cared about nearly died and once they were safe you just had to touch them and run your hands all over them to check they’re in one piece? Well this was like that only Quinn did it with his lips rather than a hug" Eliot tries to explain, seeing a quick flash of a look between Jayda and John towards the end but not stopping his explanation to ask.

"Ok I _understand_ the need to know someone is whole, but you guys should tell Ruby, I’m guessin' that the '_agreement_' was so long as it didn’t happen again Ruby doesn’t get told?" John admits, but still seems angry at the idea of Ruby not knowing.

"Yes that is the agreement, as you heard me say Quinn is now on his _last_ chance, if he kisses Eliot again I’ll tell Ruby, but John I’ve _gotta_ ask you to _please_ keep this secret, Ruby is _so_ happy, I’m sure you’ve noticed since you arrived, and the girls love Quinn, I want my family to be happy and Ruby would _never_ be secure if she knew Quinn was attracted to Eliot, she’d always be worried about it because of the way _Jared_ used to cheat on her all the time, and Quinn _isn’t_ cheatin' he’s just showin' his affection, I honestly don’t think she needs to know, will you keep the secret?" Jayda asks of him, knowing she’s asking him to bend his morals as he doesn’t agree with cheating but as she pointed out she doesn’t think Quinn is cheating.

John stays quiet for a time obviously thinking about whether he can bare to hold this secret in, keep it from Ruby, potentially for the rest of his life, in the end he takes a deep breath before answering "Yeah Jay, I’ll keep the secret, but if I _ever_ find out you’ve cheated on her I. Will. Hunt. You. Down., _understood_?" He threatens Quinn, not realising Quinn would have a decent chance of winning in a fight between them but the three hitters keep that fact to themselves as everyone seems to reach an accord.

"C’mon lets go back in, dad and Ruby will be worried" Jayda says softly, turning off the trucks heating and stepping out into the heavily blowing snow, Eliot quickly getting out and wrapping his arms around her trying his best to protect her from the elements and temperature outside the truck.

Once they all trek back inside and remove their boots again the floor is soaked so while Quinn and John go into the living room with the others Jayda mops up the melted snow while Eliot watches her, once the mop is put away, before joining everyone in the living room he catches her in his arms and holds her against him asking "you’re not mad at me? You don’t think I should have fought him off?" Quietly before leaning in to kiss her softly, holding her to him as he takes his time to touch every part of her mouth with his tongue, mapping it and claiming her as she moans quietly into his mouth.

"No I understand why he wanted to, I just... I _can’t_ let him do it to Ruby, if I _don’t_ threaten to tell her then he’ll keep doin' it and eventually you’ll both be caught by dad or Ruby or someone else who won’t keep the secret, I would give anythin' for John not to have seen what happened tonight, but now another person knows and it’s a risk" she answers when they separate, before leaning in and kissing him, leading him into the dance of tongues that they both love, them both taking turns to moan into the kiss until they’re pulled apart by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Dad! What’s up?" Jayda chokes out, wondering how long he’s been stood watching them play tonsil hockey.

"The girls are being sent to bathe and bed, thought you might want to say goodnight" He says with an indulgent smile at their antics, happy to see them so much in love.

"We’d like that, thanks Diwali, then we might make a move ourselves, neither of us slept much last night and we could do with the early night" Eliot answers with a smile, his arm still around Jayda’s waist, he uses that hand to grab her ass hard and make her jump, making him chuckle quietly down her ear as he walks her past her father to say goodnight to everyone.

When they see them the girls come running, checking Eliot over to make sure he’s not hurt just as they had done to Quinn and John when they came back in "Did you and daddy Quinn have a fight daddy?" Sarah asks Eliot as he bends down to pick her up and plant her on his hip, ignoring the pain in his back and shoulders as he does so.

"No Bug, we didn’t fight we just needed to talk about things we didn’t want to talk about in front of you girls because we knew we were upsettin' you, that’s why we went outside, there’s nothin' to worry about, we’re still friends right Quinn?" Eliot answers asking Quinn to back up his answer.

"That’s right El! Now you two know Eliot’s ok and we didn’t fight it’s time for your baths, your mommy will have the bath run by now so why don’t you go up and get ready? I’ll be up right behind you to help your mom okay?" Quinn answers, backing Eliot’s story and then reminding the girls that it’s bath-time now, Eliot reluctantly puts Sarah down, he’s missed their pup since she returned to living with Quinn, Ruby and Jane, he enjoys having her around but knows he can’t interfere in their rules for how she lives her life.

"Daddy? Can I come spend the night with you and mommy before Christmas? _Please_?" Sarah asks quietly like she expects to be told off for asking.

"Well Bug if your other mommy and daddy say it’s ok then of course you can! we’d love to have you come stay whenever you want to and your mommy and daddy say it’s ok, alright?" Eliot answers as she wraps her arms around his legs and squeezes putting his balance in jeopardy.

"Thank you daddy, I’ll ask while I’m in the bath..." she tells him smiling radiantly as Jayda taps him on the arm.

"What?" He asks Jayda distractedly as he looks up from the little girl grinning up at him.

"She just played you, tomorrow is _Christmas Eve_ the only day before Christmas, she wants to spend Christmas Eve with us, I’m not sure that’ll be ok with Ruby" Jayda informs him, making him look down into Sarah’s beaming face while feeling suddenly extremely guilty.

"Remember Bug, only if mommy Ruby says it’s ok, no whinin' if she says no, deal?" Eliot insists, Sarah’s face falling a little as she realises her chances just diminished considerably but she answers subduedly "deal"

Eliot feels bad about upsetting his daughter but he can’t force her adoptive parents to allow him to have her for Christmas, it was all up to them so he allows her to slip past him towards the stairs before he calls out "Bug? I love you!" Making her turn and make a valiant effort to smile brightly for him as she comes back and hugs his legs again before telling him "I love you too daddy, you’re the best!" Then running up the stairs after her sister going to get ready for their bath.

"John we’re headin' home, you wanna come with or hang out here longer?" Jayda asks John, giving him the option of following them in his truck or waiting for later and spending some more time with Diwali, Ruby and Quinn.

"I think I’ll hang out here for a while yet, give you guys some _privacy_, you could leave Wahya with me and I’ll bring him back later when I get back, if you want?" John tells them, wanting to spend some time talking with Diwali about a few things that may affect his life in the future.

"If you’re sure that would be great, do you still have your key for my place? Then we’ll not spend time in front of the fire or in the hot tub, just to make sure you don’t get an eyeful!" Jayda checks before turning a little and snuggling into Eliot’s neck before her father speaks up.

"I’ll text you Ruby’s reply about letting Sarah stay with you tomorrow later tonight, ok?" He says putting Eliot’s mind to rest about how he’s going to know what’s going on.

"That would be great Diwali, thanks, we’re goin' to head out now, we’re both knackered and could do with the sleep, especially if I’m spendin' all day tomorrow cookin'!" He says with a laugh in his voice as Jayda murmurs her assent, they take their time to say goodbye to John and Diwali before getting their boots and coats on and heading out to their truck and driving back to the lake house peacefully, each of them stroking the others thigh gently as they travel the short distance.


	7. Lovin' each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda have an intimate evening together with a sad realisation followed by some good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is unmitigated PORN so I hope you enjoy it, the next chapter should be posted in a week-10 days time hopefully, so if you haven’t yet subscribed then keep an eye out for it!
> 
> Feed the muses! You know how!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

JAYDA/ELIOT

Jayda pulls the truck to a stop in front of the porch and turns off the ignition before turning to Eliot and asking "did you want to go further with Quinn tonight?" Not looking or sounding angry but worrying Eliot all the same.

"No more than I ever have, I would have stopped him but I got what was goin' on in his head and decided to let him get it straight, he needed it, but I get that it was still wrong, we both wronged you and Ruby and we shouldn’t have, if you wanna punish me for it I’ll understand and allow whatever you want to do., I know I was in the wrong" Eliot explains being as honest as possible.

"El, I never said it was wrong, you didn’t wrong me, just Ruby, I have no interest in punishin' you, you didn’t do anythin' wrong, I love you, I just wanted to know if you wanted more than kisses from him?" Jayda replies, not wanting him to feel bad or guilty over what happened.

"I... wha... how..." Eliot trips over his own tongue not sure what he wants to say then quickly leans across, cups her face and starts to kiss her passionately, Jayda instantly meeting his kiss with hunger of her own, nipping and biting at his lips and tongue while he kisses her and it just makes him kiss her all the harder.

While they kiss Jayda slowly gets pushed down until she’s laying on the bench seat with Eliot on top of her, rubbing himself against her through their jeans, his breathing hitching every few thrusts when he accidentally catches the sore parts of his dick against the inside of his fly.

Eventually Jayda breaks away from the kiss to catch her breath and says "those windows are gonna be a bitch to unfog in the mornin'" making Eliot burst out laughing and flop down on top of her, nuzzling his face into her neck and nibbling under her ear once his laughing subsides.

"Oh! Eliot! Darlin' you’re a bit heavy... maybe we should head into the house rather than have sex in the truck while it’s snowin' outside, I think our bed would be a hell of a lot more comfortable!" She wheezes when he drops onto her, her hands going to his ass to squeeze and encourage his movements against her even as she pleads the case for moving into the house then up to their bedroom.

"The bed _would_ be more comfortable but I like the feel of you here and now, so hot and wet for me... I can smell it on ya..." Eliot growls, knowing she’s right but enjoying the feeling of 'about to be caught' he’d got to know in his teenaged years and enjoyed the thrill of, even if it’s unlikely they’d be caught by anyone now.

"C’mon El, bed! Let’s get in there where it’s warm... I want you to lick me and pleasure me while I straddle your face, and we can’t do that in here so let’s go!" Jayda demands, pushing him up before sitting up herself and kissing him quickly before pulling the keys from the ignition and jumping out the truck and running against the blowing wind and snow heading for the porch and front door.

When she reaches the door she slides the key in and opens the door but then his arms are around her, carrying her over the threshold and into the house before closing the door with his foot and putting her down so she’s trapped between the back of the sofa and his hips which are grinding against her ass like he’s trying to dig a hole through her with his dick.

"Eliot...El... oh yes! Please... now..." she begs, already on edge from making out in the truck twice and her left over heat hormones, plus her general attraction to him that’s there constantly.

"Jay darlin'... Yeah!" He growls back as he rips open the zipper and button on her jeans and pulls the back of them and her panties down over her ass to just onto the tops of her thighs and pushing her down over the sofa by a grip on the back of her neck, then tearing open his own jeans just enough to pull his rock-hard cock out, he rubs his dick along her pouting slit, getting his head wet with her juices before quickly thrusting into her harshly and setting up an immediately punishing pace.

He thrusts hard and fast into her, wanting to force her to reach her climax quickly before allowing them to head upstairs and continue until she’s cum at least a few more times before he reaches his own climax, then he’ll see about whether he can continue and go for an instant second round or just cuddle up and talk some more.

"Eliot, yes! _Fuck_ me!" She cries out, pushing back against his every thrust so that every thrust is even deeper and harder than he means it to be, but she seems to be loving it so he doesn’t ease up any just grips her hips harder, sure he’s leaving bruises there again and pulls her along his cock as hard as he can.

"Oh!... You tease me for hours... and make me wait for you,... you’re _awful_ to me!" She tells him between pants and groans as he hammers into her, trying to rile him up even more so he’ll be even rougher with her.

"Hey! you were the one who wanted me to stop earlier, I would have happily gone all the way until you were _screamin_' my name but you said _no_..." he replies with sarcasm as he grabs her shoulder with one hand to put more force behind his thrusts while pointing out that her frustration was her own fault, to a degree.

"Oh! Oh yes! Please! Gonna cum!" She shouts as her inner muscles tighten down on his hard length, squeezing and milking him and trying to drag him with her over the edge and into orgasm while she keens and her release runs down her thighs and rubs across the front of his jeans where it’s run down the length of his cock.

Once she stops shuddering and squeezing down on him Eliot pulls out and uses her bruised hips to turn her around to face him before leaning in and kissing her slowly and gently, slowly sliding his hand between her thighs and tugging on her clit ring gently, making her cry out which breaks their kiss meaning it gives her the chance to say "El? Did you take the dressin' off your cock before shovin' it in me?" Making him look at her in slowly dawning horror.

"No, I forgot it was there..." he says as he looks down at his hard cock and finds no sign of the dressing "it must have come off inside you... I’m sorry!" He continues, worrying about what they were going to do now.

"It’s ok, we can fix this, let’s go upstairs, we’ll get rid of the dressin' and then carry on with what we’re doin'" Jayda tells him, seemingly unworried about the dressing stuck inside herself.

Jayda pulls her panties and jeans up over her ass again and heads for the stairs, leading him by his hand she looks over her shoulder and promises "if you don’t pick up the pace then I’m gonna lead you by your cock, and you might not like that as much as you’d think you would!"

He looks at her incredulously but steps up his pace until he’s crowding her up the stairs while groping her ass and tits and once they’re in the bedroom wrapping his arms around her and rubbing himself up against her ass again, making sure she knows what he wants.

She turns in his arms and kisses him, slowly like they have forever to just kiss, her lips moving against his before opening wider and allowing his tongue access to her own, playing and dancing together in an act of love.

This kiss slows Eliot’s passion a little, he still wants her, wants to make love to her, still wants everything they can possibly share, but for now he’s ok to take things slow, after all they have all night.

"Now that you’re a little calmer let’s take care of this dressin' ok?" Jayda says softly against his collarbone as she kisses along it "first we both need to get naked, then on the bed, then I’m goin' to tell you how to fix this little problem" she instructs in a gentle voice, as she brings one of his hands down to cup her mound through her jeans.

"O... ok... naked... yeah..." Eliot replies looking a little lust-drugged and incoherent, making her smile at him lovingly before she takes hold of his shirt and sweater and pulls them over his head then throws them at the laundry hamper, meanwhile she steps closer to him and undoes his belt, which he’d left buckled when he undid the fly of his jeans and drops his jeans down to his ankles, his cock still standing hard and proud from his body, lined straight up the central line of his abs.

As Jayda steps back to pull her shirt and sweater off over her head Eliot tries to follow but finds himself hobbled by the jeans that are wrapped around his ankles, so he bends at the waist to remove his boots and Jayda just watches the flexing of various muscles as he unlaces and then removes the boots, reminding her forcefully of that first time in Portland, when she begged him for help and he took her to bed and Claimed her, started her Change into a were like him, a day she’d waited years for, and now their lives have changed so much, they’re engaged, they’re going to work together, at least some of the time, they have claimed their daughter and told her she was theirs, and she loves them! Nearly everything in her life had changed and she knows it’s the same for Eliot, life would never be the same again!

As all this goes through her head Eliot gets his boots, jeans and boxer briefs off and comes to stand in front of her, worriedly saying her name and trying to get her to snap out of it, she finally blinks a few times and says "Eliot? What? I’m sorry, my mind wandered back to you Claimin' me in Portland, didn’t mean to zone out!"

"That’s okay darlin' was just worried somethin' was wrong, now let’s get your clothes off..." Eliot says as he pulls down on a belt loop on her already open pair of jeans and tugs them back down over her hips before going to his knees in front of her, taking her boots off one by one and then putting them out of the way before stripping her jeans the rest of the way off, leaving her in just her bra, panties and of course her woolly socks.

Eliot slowly reaches and takes hold of the flimsy piece of silk and lace that make up her panties, slowly pulling down both sides at once until they reach her knees and then just letting them drop to the floor, she’s just stepping out of them when Eliot takes hold of her knee and then gets under it as comfortably as possible for them both before he leans in and licks over her clit, growling possessively as her taste spreads across his tongue.

"El! If you wanna do that you can... _Ah_!.... but let me get on the bed first... _please_!" She begs, not feeling at her steadiest and wanting to lay on the bed and deal with the missing dressing first, growling unhappily, Eliot lowers her leg again and gently pushes her backwards towards the bed making sure she gets the hint that he’s in a hurry to have her.

As soon as Jayda has stumbled to the bed and sat down on the edge Eliot pushes open her legs and licks along her slit from perineum to clit, making her hiccup out a cry of pleasure, the sensation making her grip his hair tightly in her left hand.

"Eliot _stop_! I need you to get the dressin' out of me before I let you carry on with this..." jayda demands as she holds his head just out of reach of her pussy, before adding " now listen to _me_ and not your _dick_!"

Eliot realises this is going to be important and pulls his head back a little so he’s giving her his undivided attention "ok El, I’m gonna lay back and then I’m goin' to want you to slide two fingers into me and feel around for the dressin', it’s most likely been forced deep by your thrusts when you were _fuckin_' me, so make sure you check deep inside ok?" She tells him before laying back on the bed and pulling her feet up to rest one on each of his shoulders while he tentatively slides the two fingers inside of her.

As he rubs over her internal walls slowly, searching for the feel of the self-adhesive dressing that had been on his dick before he got over excited and fucked her without thinking, worrying about what harm the adhesive might do to the delicate balance of her body in this most intimate of areas, not wanting to be the cause of a problem for her.

As he thinks about this his fingers have slipped deeper inside of her, past her G-spot until they’re just tickling her cervix when he realises he can feel something scratching against the back of his cuticle on one finger, he instantly twists his hand and manages to pinch the item between his fingernails and slowly and ever so gently pulls it out, eventually he can see the item and sees a twisted, scrunched up dressing, just like the one he’d lost and grins in triumph as he looks up at Jayda’s face.

"_Good boy!_" Jayda says, throwing her bra off the bed and leaning forward, her breasts hanging heavy and ruffling her hand through his hair which earns her a growl in response but she, instead of growling in return, replies to him with "Now wasn’t there somethin' you wanted to do? Only _good boys_ get their rewards..." teasing him cruelly as his head lowers to allow him to lick over her slit again, making her ask "what do you want, _puppy_?"

His lip starts to raise in a snarl before he stops himself and answers her "I want _you_, want to lick you and suck you and bite you and eat you before I _fuck_ you through this mattress, that ok with you _darlin_'?" He asks in return as his fingers slide back inside her and start instantly rubbing over her G-spot Making her mewl in pleasure.

"That’s _fine_ by me baby..." she gasps out before pulling his hair to pull him closer to her sex, letting him pull gently at her clit ring with his tongue while he slides his fingers in and out of her, making sure to rub her G-spot in a circular motion as he moves his hand, making her pant and gasp as another orgasm starts to build low between the cradle of her hips.

He pulls harder on the clit ring with his tongue, drawing it into his mouth allowing him to get his lips against her and suck her clit between his teeth, then he starts to gently massage it with his teeth, rolling it from one side to the other, sucking at it all the while, slowly gripping harder with his teeth as each noise of pleasure leaves her until her thighs are shaking on either side of his head and her grip in his hair is painful, but he doesn’t stop, knows she’s close, so he lets go of her clit and it’s little ring and moves down to lick around his fingers where they’re still working inside of her, each rub over her G-spot making her thighs squeeze his shoulders as they tighten in reaction to the pleasure she’s feeling, and he’s getting off on having this power over her, playing her body like an exotic instrument as he licks, bites and touches.

As she starts to beg him "please... _please_ Eliot, make me cum... get me there _please_... want you to get me off then _fuck_ me _hard_!" He licks around his fingers one last time and then licks downwards a little more, not quite to her ass but close enough that her thighs tighten and her hands pull at his hair harshly letting him know that’s not what she wants, so he licks back up her slit, making sure to touch every part of it, flickering his tongue at her inner labia piercings, licking and sucking at them and the rest of her blood engorged flesh before sucking her clit into his mouth again but this time positioning the ring between his teeth so that when he bites down the flesh around the ring is compressed and she suddenly arches her back as she pulls his face tightly against her and her thighs clamp around him as hard as they can while she keens out "Aaahhhh! Yes! Eliot!" As she climaxes hard.

He licks her gently as he withdraws his fingers from her clenching channel, as she slowly relaxes back down so her back is flat and she’s not clenching on him with her thighs or hands, allowing him to lick, kiss, suck and nip his way up her body, starting with her hipbones then moving up to her navel and trailing over the spaces between her ab muscles before reaching her breasts, playing with one nipple as he gently licks and sucks at the other, giving it a gentle nip before swapping to the other nipple and giving each the same treatment the other had been getting, then slowly trailing kisses up along her collarbones, stopping to suck the hollow where they meet before trailing up the scarred side of her neck until he reaches her jawline which he traces his tongue across until he finally, finally gets to kiss her soft, bitten raw, lips.

"Love you darlin'" He tells her between soft kisses, caressing her as he lays over her, touching her all over as his hard length rubs against her thigh, but he makes no effort to push for things to go further, he wants her to have the chance to recover from her orgasm before they start again.

"I love you too El, please, make love to me?" Jayda replies, asking him to take their loving further, although slow and gentle rather than the hard and fast they’d both mentioned earlier.

"It would be my honour to make love to you... open up for me darlin'" he whispers into her neck, waiting for her to part her legs before moving over her and between them, his knees coming to rest on the bed as his hips rub against hers, his hardness sliding up her inner thigh until he’s rubbing between her lips, his whole length rubbing over her clit as he moves against her.

"Ooohhh!" She sighs as he kisses her neck again before coming to kiss her lips as he slowly pushes into her, taking his time to slide his whole length into her before pausing and just letting the feeling of being so close envelope him.

After holding still for a few seconds he pulls his head up and looks into her eyes before he bumps his pelvic arch against hers in a sort of mini thrust and then pulls back before slowly sliding back into her, his eyes never leaving hers, his eyes showing the love in his heart for her as they drink in the sight of her, flushed and sweating with the pleasure he’s giving her.

He continues his slow thrusts, using his dominant hand to caress her body while he holds himself up with his left hand, touching her and stroking her everywhere he can reach, stroking her face, holding it still when he leans in to kiss her, just as slowly as he’s thrusting into her, his lips slowly moving before his tongue strokes her bottom lip gently, begging for entrance into her mouth, which she grants almost instantly, her hand that has slipped into his hair tightening and holding on as their mouths move and their tongues stroke each other in passion, making him move slightly faster inside of her, stroking her breasts, her pussy tightening around his length exquisitely when he pinches the unpierced nipple and twists it a little, her throat letting out a small cry into their kiss to let him know she likes it, then his hand trails down to her hip, stroking and holding in place as he slowly but forcefully thrusts into her, making her whimper after a while because she wants more from him, needs more.

"Please... _please_ El, make me cum, _need_ to..." Jayda whispers when he pulls back from their kiss, begging him to bring her to climax as she tips her head forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder as she pants.

"Gonna get you there... but I might end up cummin' myself, I’ll try not to though..." he answers her, turning his head to kiss her temple and then her ear, his roaming hand coming back up and stroking the side of her head to comfort her as he starts to bring her to her peak.

"Ah yes!" She cries out as he speeds up a little and uses more force in his thrusts into her, but her reaction doesn’t stop there, she also raises her legs and wraps them around him, holding him tightly to her, and he knows that in her passion she’s forgotten his bruises and wounds across his back and ass, but he decides that no matter how bad the pain gets he’s not going to let her know she’s hurt him, he wants her to enjoy this and he knows the guilt would overshadow their loving if he lets her know, so he just puts a little more force behind his thrusts and works towards getting her to orgasm.

He can feel her tightening around his length and he knows she’s pretty close so he slides his free hand down her body until he can slide it between them and use his thumb to rub at her clit in very hard little circles, trying to force her over the edge, but she instantly cries out. 

"No! Please! Not like that! I want you to make love to me, not just get me off, you know the difference, right?" She begs, his hand immediately pulling out from between them and coming back up her body to caress her face.

"Darlin' I’m sorry, I thought you wanted to get there fast, I misunderstood what you wanted, forgive me? I’ll make love to you the way you want, promise" he begs in return, hating that he got it wrong, all he wants to do is give her pleasure, but in the way she wants, not just the quickest and most convenient way which is what he’d mistakenly thought she had been asking for.

"Of _course_ I forgive you! I love you, want to make love with you, to you, _always_!" She replies before lifting her hips with the grip her thighs have around him and rubbing her clit hard against his pelvic arch as he thrusts into her.

She lifts herself up tight against him again and grinds herself over his pelvic bone while he makes love to her, changing the angle his cock slides into her making him nail her G-spot every time he thrusts in, making her start to whimper with every thrust, and now he’s thrusting into her and then grinding against her clit before pulling out for the next thrust and his right hand is holding her up by her ass cheek meaning that she’s in exactly the right position to keep getting her G-spot nailed even without pulling herself up, meaning she can relax and just thrust and move against him in counterpoint to the way he moves into her.

Eliot kisses her neck as sweat drips off the end of his nose into her hair, his thrusting starting to become even harder as she moves against him, them both grinding at each other as he lifts her ass off the bed so he can grind against her, and when he lifts her she starts to whimper with every thrust in, when he looks at her he can see they’re whimpers of enjoyment and over stimulation not pain so he keeps doing what he’s doing as his thrusts become harder and even deeper, making her squeak as she pants and he gasps, the sweat running off them both as they strain toward their releases.

"Oh! El! I’m... I’m gonna... ELIOT!!!" She pants then screams out, her channel tightening down excruciatingly hard and holding him tight inside her, unable to move, and then she spasms and squeezes even tighter, pushing him over the edge and forcing him to cum, his head right next to her cervix, filling her with his cum, making sure every inch of her insides is painted with it before she loosens slightly allowing Eliot to thrust a couple more times, forcing out a little more of his release into her until they both stop spasming and cumming then relax back down onto the bed together, Jayda laid flat on her back with Eliot laid on top of her, still inside of her, as he strokes her face and neck and kisses her slowly and deeply.

When they finally stop kissing Jayda looks up at Eliot and asks "El? Can you... can... is... are you able to smell it? Am I...? I _know_ I shouldn’t ask, but I... I _want_ to know... I’m _sorry_!" Before burying her face into his neck and starting to cry softly.

"Hey... Hey now, c’mon, it’s ok to ask, but I can only tell you the truth and that might not be what you want to hear, ok? Are you sure you want me to tell you?" He asks in return as he strokes the hair on the back of her head.

"I’m sure, I wanna know" she whispers into his neck, dreading what his answer will be.

"Jay... Jayda, I’m sorry, I’ve checked your scent every time we’re near each other, all the way through rut and since then too, but I’m sorry, I’m fairly sure you’re not pregnant, not this time, I’m sorry I failed you" he tells her, his guilt growing bigger as he tells her, somehow feeling that it’s his fault she hasn’t managed to get pregnant this heat.

Her sobs start coming harder and he holds her head to reassure her that he’s there for her and still loves her, after a minute or two he goes to pull out of her but she grabs his ass, making him wince in pain, holding him in place so he can’t leave her body, her pussy tightening around his still half-hard length, trying to pull him back into her.

"Please... _please_ don’t leave me... stay with me... show me you still love me even though I’ve failed you Alpha!" She begs through her sobs, obviously needing the contact as a reassurance of his love, so he moves his left hand until it’s under her back caressing the top of her spine while his elbow holds his weight off her and uses his right hand to stroke and caress her head and face while she cries against his neck, it’s not the most comfortable position to be in but he doesn’t care about that, all he cares about is being there for Jayda, making sure she knows just how loved she is.

"Jay, it’s ok, of course I still love you, just as much as I always have... and... you... you haven’t... haven’t failed me, not in any way, Alpha, you’re perfect, now, I’m sad too but please don’t cry, there’ll be other heats and ruts, we have plenty of time to try again, so please don’t cry, c’mon now, kiss me a bit" he replies, telling her that it’s not her fault she didn’t fall pregnant and that he thinks she’s perfect before trying to distract her with kisses.

She takes a minute as she gets control over her sobs before lifting her face and kissing the corner of his mouth, but she doesn’t meet his eyes, keeping hers downcast which he isn’t happy about.

"C’mon Jay, look at me, I ain’t kissin' you if you won't look at me..." he tells her, her violet eyes finally looking up at him through tear-spiked lashes as silent tears still run down her face.

"Oh darlin'! Please ssshhhh... don’t cry no more... there’s always next time, there’s no hurry, I love you..." he says as he hugs her to him, their bodies held so tightly together you couldn’t get a sheet of paper between them, then he nudges her face up from his shoulder where it’s resting, using his nose to get her to raise her head before looking her deep in her eyes and repeating in a whisper "I love you" before kissing her as gently as he possibly can.

"I love you too, I’m so _sorry_..." she starts but he puts a finger over her lips to interrupt her and cuts her off. 

"Nothin' to be sorry for, now, you got two choices, we can either go again, or we can curl up and go to sleep, what do you want to do?" He asks, moving his finger from her lips and stroking her hair as he waits for an answer.

"I would love to go again if you want to... but I’ve gotta admit I’m rather tired, we haven’t had much proper sleep lately..." she admits quietly, obviously willing to do whatever he wants, but he has no intentions to push for more, happy to just curl around her and sleep so long as they are together.

"Tell you what then, let’s go to sleep, let you catch up on all the sleep you’ve missed, I would say there’s always the mornin' but I’ve gotta be up early to start makin' pies so it’ll have to wait until the cookin' is done" Eliot tells her, he’s just finished speaking when his phone goes off in his jeans pocket on the floor.

"I’ll just grab that, it’ll be your dad about Sarah visitin' tomorrow" He tells her, her hand releasing his ass as he says it allowing him to slide out of her and climb off the bed so he can dig out his phone.

"Ok, Ruby has said it’s ok for Sarah to visit, she says she’ll drop her off in the mornin' and have a quick word about when she’s to be picked up, so we’re meant to think about when we want her to go back... is it me or does that sound weird?" Eliot explains then asks Jayda, something in the phrasing just doesn’t sound right to him.

"Maybe Ruby wants to let us have as much family time as we can... I’ve gotta admit i’d love to have her here on Christmas mornin'!" Jayda replies, her comment ending on a sob of grief for all the lost times they’ve missed.

"Hey Jay... please don’t cry anymore... we’ll get to spend Christmas together the three of us this year, I promise, stop cryin'" Eliot says gently as he moves back onto the bed and wraps his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as he strokes her arms, back and hair until the quiet sobs stop and she just shakes and shivers in his arms until her tears are finally finished.

"Sorry, I..." is all she manages to get out before Eliot kisses her and then stops her from speaking.

"No! I get it, no need to apologise, how about we curl up and go to sleep? We’re gonna have a very excited little girl to deal with soon" Eliot suggests with a smile and a gentle squeeze around Jayda’s shoulders.

"Yeah that’s a good idea, c’mon get into the bed then!" Jayda agrees and flips the covers back for Eliot to climb in, once he’s laid down wrapped around her she turns out the lights and says "don’t kill John when he comes home ok? Try to remember we have a house guest, I love you" Making Eliot snort in amusement.

"Don’t worry I won’t, I love you too, g'night darlin'" he answers, pulling her back against his chest and rubbing his jaw in her hair against the back of her neck, feeling Home, feeling Pack, feeling Love as they both settle down and wait to fall asleep.


	8. Wounds of the skin, wounds of the soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Quinn have some problems while trying to spend some time together and John takes Diwali up on an offer he made some years ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s been too long since I last updated, real life is getting in the way as are my illnesses, I’m having trouble concentrating on whichever story I’m writing at the moment, not in the having ideas for the others way but in the getting bored before I even start writing, it’s kicking my ass, my best writing time for concentration is 3am which isn’t good for me!
> 
> This chapter is almost completely Ruby and Quinn with a tiny interlude of John and Diwali so this is for the Quinn/Clayne Crawford fans out there.
> 
> I hope y’all enjoy the chapter and feel the urge to write me a comment or message or leave kudos at the very least, you have no idea how good you feel when you get the email saying "someone left you kudos!" Or a comment etc, so please do, let me know what you’d like to see, if it fits in to the plan I’ll see about adding it in, you only get if you ask!
> 
> Anyway enjoy darlin's!

QUINN/RUBY

Quinn starts to climb the stairs behind Ruby, leaving Diwali and John to talk, as they head up to bed to chat themselves about their wedding and what the plan is for the next couple of days, tomorrow being full of cooking and everyone coming over at some point during the day, and the next day being Christmas, and all it’s going to entail since this year he has two daughters to make it special for.

As he thinks that he misses a step and falls into Ruby, head butting her spine accidentally, before scrambling up and helping her up from where he knocked her over on the stairs, as he thinks 'god I have daughters!' It still being a shock every time he realises it.

They make their way into their room and close and lock the door behind them, Quinn pulling Ruby into his arms as quickly as he can before saying "_sorry_, I didn’t mean to knock you down, I missed a step, are you ok?" Just checking he didn’t hurt her accidentally.

"No I’m fine baby, you don’t need to apologise, now, what’s the plan? Shower or straight to bed?" Ruby reassures him before asking him what he wants to do.

"Well I was thinking maybe showering together before going to bed? Unless there’s something you would rather do?" Quinn suggests, not minding what they do so long as they’re together.

"Sounds good, now... get these sweats _off_..." Ruby demands as she pulls up on the hems of his sweater and T-shirt at the same time before pulling them up and off over his head in one move.

"Yes ma’am, want me to get the rest off?" He asks as he teases at pulling down on his waistband, knowing it’s what she wants and if he doesn’t do it she will.

"Nope, I’ll do it... after all if I’m gonna start a job I may as well finish it, now _c’mere_ and let me get you naked" she answers, getting a surprise when he comes to her and kisses her as he presses against the side of her leg and she can feel from the way his cock is rising that he’s not wearing any underwear, making her grin as she yanks down on his waistband, letting his sweatpants drop to the floor, leaving him completely naked while she’s fully dressed still.

"My turn now?" Quinn asks, pulling her in for another passionate kiss before gripping the bottom of her tops and gently working them up and over her head, dropping them onto the floor so that his hands can caress her exposed skin, the only things she’s still wearing being her bra, sweatpants, panties and socks.

Ruby reaches behind herself to undo her bra but Quinn stops her, reaching around her himself to hold her tight and kiss her while he undoes the offending piece of clothing and drops it to the side, his hands running up and down her spine uninterrupted while he kisses her passionately.

The next time his hands come down to her waist they keep going and push both her sweats and her panties down over her hips where they’re left to drop to the ground, Ruby quickly steps out of them and pushes them away with her foot before toeing off her socks and kicking them away too as Quinn takes hold of the back of her thighs and lifts her until her legs are wrapped around his waist and her arms are around his neck.

"_Hi_!" She says breathlessly when their lips separate, staring into his eyes as she leans in and kisses his nose playfully.

"_Hi!_" He replies as he goes cross-eyed trying to watch her kiss the tip of his nose, making her giggle at the sight before he unsuccessfully chases her lips with his own.

Quinn pouts at her for not allowing the kiss before turning and carrying her into their bathroom, once the door is closed behind him he pushes her up against the wall between the shower and the door, hitching her up a little as he finally gets his kiss before releasing one thigh and looping his hand under it and pushing her leg up until her ankle is on his shoulder, his cock rubbing along her clit because of how he’s holding her against the wall with his body but can’t stop himself from thrusting his hips against her, her moans of pleasure doing _nothing_ to encourage him to stop.

"Sean! Oh yes! Feels so good, are you going to take me here or wait until we’re in bed and just tease me now?" Ruby asks, twitching her hips up against his making the feel of them rubbing against each other more intense for both of them.

"What would you prefer? Here, in the shower, on your bedroom floor or in bed? Or all of the aforementioned?" Quinn asks her, having no preference so long as he gets to be with her.

"Let’s start here and then move into the shower and then we’ll go from there, but let’s not bother with the floor, I don’t like that, sorry" Ruby proposes, letting Quinn in on another issue caused by her ex-husband, Jared.

"Sounds like a good plan, and you’ve got _nothing_ to be sorry for, I don’t much like it on the carpet, rugburn is a _bitch_" he tells her, making the comment about rugburn so she doesn’t feel bad about saying she doesn’t like it, as he knows she’s fearing that she’s letting him down in some way as she usually does when she confesses to not liking something.

"Are you ready for me love?" He asks as his free hand tickles along her elongated clit, making her gasp at the unexpected sensation before she moans as he leans in to kiss her sweetly.

"Yes! Please now!" She pants out as his head rubs over her hole gently overand over again before he changes the angle of his hips and slowly presses inside of her, entering her in one long, smooth, glide until he’s buried in her balls deep and he’s kissing her neck and shoulder while he carries on stroking the length of her clit.

"So good... so hot and wet and tight! Never want this to end!" Quinn groans against the pulse in her neck as he makes long slow thrusts into her, the vibrations making her moan as it tickles her neck and the lobe of her ear before she gasps harshly when, while still thrusting, he hitches her up against the wall again, one handed this time.

He carries on moving into her slowly, over and _over_, stroking her clit in time to his thrusts as she tightens a little more with every push in before he decides to try something new, as his fingers reach the head of her clit he stops stroking and takes hold of the head, pinching it between two fingers and his thumb before twisting his grip, her reaction is instantaneous, her head slams back against the wall as she lets out a cry very similar to Eliot when he howls, whilst she squirts her cum onto his lowest abs as she’s taken in a totally unexpected orgasm, shocking them both.

"Are you ok?" Quinn asks as she releases his neck with one hand and rubs the back of her head where it slammed into the wall... yep, leaving a slight dent and a pink mark he’s pretty sure is blood, when he doesn’t get an immediate answer he slides out of her, Ruby making a sound of dissent as he pulls out but he’s determined he’s going to check her for injuries before they continue, he pulls her ankle off his shoulder and sets her down on her feet on the floor, even though she’s rather unsteady due to the force of her climax.

"Here let me look" he says as he moves to beside her where she’s leaning her ass against the wall, his hands following hers to the area that hurts before separating the hair in that area and looking for blood, which he finds quite a lot of.

"You’ve cut open your scalp, come and sit on the toilet while I clean it up" Quinn says, grabbing a clean washcloth and wetting it with hot water, working his way around the wound where she’s torn her scalp on the wall.

"_Oowwww_! That _hurts_!" She cries as he tries to make sure there’s nothing in the wound as he’s cleaning it, he’s also checking to feel if there’s any give in her skull to make sure she hasn’t caused any real damage to herself.

"I know, I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta check it’s ok, here take hold of this cloth and press it against the wound as hard as you can, it’ll help stop the bleeding" Quinn replies, feeling bad that he inadvertently caused the injury and that he’s now hurting her to help her.

"It’s ok, I didn’t mean to have a go at you, I know you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose" Ruby comforts him, reaching up with her free hand and caressing his ass lightly from where she’s sat.

"Are we going to carry on or have I broken the mood for the night?" Ruby asks, wanting to continue their love making but unsure if it’s what he wants as his erection has dissipated.

"I’d like to carry on but only once I know you’re ok, do you have any dizziness or nausea?" He replies before starting asking her the usual head injuries questions which he quickly works all the way through.

"I think you’re ok, you don’t seem to have any signs of a head or brain injury so at least that’s something" Quinn informs her as he smiles down at her as she continues caressing his ass before pulling him over by her grip on his cheek and manoeuvring him until he’s stood right in front of her, she smiles up at him again then slowly pulls his hips forward until she can suck the head of his less than half-hard cock into her mouth and tongue at the frenulum underneath the curve of the head, making him moan and caress his hand down the side of her jaw since he can’t take hold of the back of her head.

"Ooohhh Ru! Yes! Oh! Just like that... _Ah_!... yes, more..." Quinn moans out, his hand sliding round to the back of her neck to encourage her to move further down his cock ever so gently as he fully hardens, Ruby taking the gentle encouragement as a demand and instantly swallows him down completely until her chin is resting on his balls and her nose is pressed into his thick curly pubes, trying her best to ignore her gag reflex and only being partially successful.

"Ruby _no_!" Quinn yelps as she gags again and tears start to pour from her eyes, but still she holds her position and holds Quinn where he is by her tight grip on the backs of his knees, meaning if he tries to step back he’ll fall, so he begs her "Ruby _please stop!_ This _isn’t_ what I want, and it’s not what you want either, please _stop_!" He pleads with her, trying to get her to stop for both their sakes.

Eventually after Quinn’s pleas and his gentle attempts to push her away from himself Ruby pulls back and gasps for breath as her eyes continue to run and she continues to gag for a few seconds.

"Ruby! _Why_ did you do that? Why would you force yourself to do something so... uncomfortable when what we do together is meant to be about _mutual_ pleasure?" Quinn asks as he lowers himself to his knees in front of her, holding both sides of her face as he stares into her eyes.

"I thought that was how men _like_ it! They like you to go all the way down and then stay there while they move how they like while you gag and squeeze them with your throat before they cum in your mouth or throat or pull out and shoot all over your face, usually aiming at your eyes! Isn’t that right?" Ruby cries in a harsh, rough voice, her words turning into sobs with her question as she throws her arms around Quinn’s neck and hides her face against his shoulder where it joins his neck.

"No Ruby, that’s _not_ how _men_ like it, that’s how abusive, selfish, _assholes_ like it, I would _never_ force you or expect you to do that, I don’t want you to do that if it’s causing pain or discomfort to you, now if you could do it _without_ any discomfort and you _WANTED_ to do it then it’d be fine but only under those conditions, and cumming in your mouth or throat without warning or pre agreement is _very_ wrong, but worst of all is a guy who shoots on his lady’s face, unless she has asked him to do it, only _assholes_ do that, and aiming for the eyes? What a fucking _cocksucker_! I would never, _EVER_ demean you in such a way, I promise! I love you too much to do that to you, I swear" Quinn vows, stroking her hair and back gently, telling her that what she’d been led to believe is normal is actually abuse, something that breaks his heart every time he has to explain it.

"I’m _sorry_! I’m sorry I got it wrong! I was just trying to impress you and please you! I’m such an _idiot_!" She wails while holding on tighter to his neck, her tears soaking his skin and making him feel so guilty.

He takes hold of her upper arms and gently pushes her back enough he can see her face before replying "Ruby _stop_! You have _nothing_ to apologise for, you did _nothing_ wrong and you’re _NOT_ an idiot! You’re the woman I love, the woman I’m going to marry, and the woman I’m going to teach what respect feels like, I don’t ever want you to feel bad about _anything_ to do with our sex life, so here’s a new rule... if something causes you discomfort it doesn’t happen any more, even if you think men like it, if I want something I’ll ask and we can talk about it, but if it’s not bringing you pleasure or is actively causing discomfort or pain to you then it _doesn’t_ happen, period, ok?" Making sure in no uncertain terms where they each stand on this matter.

"Ok" Ruby replies meekly, tears still running down her cheeks and still feeling wrong but not knowing how to fix things so she asks "will you teach me? Teach me what men like for real?"

"I’d be honoured to teach you, but let’s save blowjobs for our wedding night like we planned, for now I think it’s best if we wait to have a shower in the morning, give your scalp a chance to heal a bit, let’s go to bed, what do you say?" Quinn suggests while he strokes her back with the hand holding her steady.

"I’d like that, but what about _you_? You haven’t..." Ruby starts to ask before Quinn interrupts her quickly.

"That’s not important, we’ll be together tomorrow, unless you want more tonight? I’m happy to lay you out on the bed and lick you and suck you until you’re satisfied?" Quinn asks.

"No! I’m ok, I want to pleasure you, that’s what I’m worried about!" She tells him letting him know that his pleasure is what’s important to her.

"Sweetheart, I’m fine, I got my pleasure knowing you came for me, I can wait until tomorrow for more, to be honest I’m kinda tired..." he says as he rises from his knees to his feet before helping her up onto her feet and then leading her through to their bedroom and into the bed, leaning in to kiss her as he leans across her to turn out the lamp before settling down with her in his arms feeling complete and utter joy at having her there in his arms he whispers "I love you Ruby"

"I love you too Sean, always" she whispers back before snuggling into him even more and settling down, them both fast asleep within minutes.

JOHN/DIWALI

After Eliot and Jayda left and Quinn and Ruby had retired to their room andDiwali has texted Eliot he asks John "_So_, what is it you want to talk about, I've been waiting all evening for you to spit it out" playfully rather than as harshly as he could have sounded.

"Well... you remember the offer you made me a few years back, the one you first asked about while Jayda was pregnant? I’ve been thinkin' about it more lately and if the offer is still open I think i’d like to take you up on it, if that’s ok?" John replies a little meekly, Diwali’s face splitting into a wide grin at the implications.

"John, I would love to have you become my apprentice! You understand it will take years of work to become a shaman, yes? And if you wish to follow my lead and learn medicine of any level that too will take years? I don’t want to deter you but I feel I should be honest about it" Diwali tells him, glad he’s come around to the idea of being the tribe's next shaman.

"Yeah I know, I took battlefield medic trainin' in the Marines and I figured I’m a bit old for medical school but maybe advanced paramedic trainin'? It’ll still help in the initial stages of a problem if a shaman isn’t what’s needed until I can hand them over to you or one of the other ER medics, what do you think?" John explains, showing that he’d already thought long and hard about how to do it.

"Well since you’ve obviously planned for this already and I’ve been waiting for you to say yes i’d say we’ve reached an agreement, you will train as an advanced paramedic while I train you to be a shaman, starting with a private ceremony two days after Christmas, we’ll go out into the forest and build a training hut, okay?" Diwali replies, glad that John has finally decided to join him and become an apprentice, something that Diwali should have found years ago but he’d been holding out for the young soldier.

"I should take Wahya and head back to Jayda’s, I don’t want to disturb them by comin' back too late, not if they have to be up early to spend time with Sarah" John points out, ruffling Wahya's fur and ears where he’s laid in front of Johns feet.

"Do you have any ideas about where you’ll live while you’re training?" Diwali asks even as he nods along to John's plan to leave.

"I had thought I could stay with Jay until I found somewhere but with Eliot bein' there I guess I can’t so I’ll have to look for somewhere else" John answers with a shrug, knowing he can’t impose on the new couple for long.

"Jayda is going back to Portland with Eliot, so her house will be empty for a little while, so she’ll probably be happy enough for you to stay there until you find somewhere else" Diwali let’s him know, giving him something new to consider before talking to Jayda sometime soon.

"I’ll ask her if I can’t find anywhere else, thanks Diwali, me and Wahya will make a move and get back to the lake house, thank you for dinner, and everything else, goodnight" John replies before going to the kitchen and putting the harness on the wolf pup then putting his own coat and boots on before heading out to his truck and driving away, heading back to Jayda and Eliot’s lake house with Wahya next to him.

24th December 

RUBY/QUINN

It’s 3.17am when Quinn wakes up and the bed next to him is empty, he waits for a minute in case Ruby has gone to the toilet but when she doesn’t return he sits up and checks and the bathroom light isn’t on, so he gets up and grabs some boxers to put on followed by his robe if he’s gonna be wandering the house.

First he checks she’s not in the bathroom with the light off, but the room is empty, so he heads down the stairs after checking on the girls, when he reaches the ground floor Quinn heads into the kitchen where he can see the night light is on over the hob.

When he stops in the doorway he’s disheartened to see Ruby sat on the floor in the back corner of the room next to the opening french doors, staring out at the gently falling snow while she sniffles and cries and hugs herself.

He silently walks around the dining table and crouches down by her, putting his arm around her and gently pulling her against his chest, where she lifts her face from her knees and buries it in his neck just where it joins his shoulder as her arms slip around his ribs squeezing him tightly as she quietly sobs against him.

"Hey, Hey Ru, what’s wrong? Why you down here hiding?" Quinn asks her in a whisper, concerned that rather than talk to him she’d come down here to be alone.

"I’m _sorry_!" She wails into his neck, not saying any more just sobbing against his neck worrying him even more as he strokes her back and her hair (very gently) before kissing her softly on the neck while whispering "I love you"

When her tears finally slow again he strokes the side of her face and asks "so what’s so wrong you came down here to cry instead of talking to me?"

"I... I’m sorry... I didn’t _mean_ to fuck up again,... it’s all I _ever_ seem to do... fuck up our sex life... why am I so _broken_ and _fucked up?!_" She whispers before collapsing into tears again.

"Oh Ruby.... you aren’t _broken_ or _fucked up_, you’re my _perfect_ bride, my _Lady_, and you never, _NEVER_ fuck up our sex life, I love you and every moment I spend with you is special, please don’t cry, there’s _nothing_ you need to feel bad or cry for" Quinn tells her as he comforts her, holding her as close to himself as he can.

"I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make a fuss, that’s why I came down here to be alone..." she confesses as she burrows against his chest, gasping and hiccuping.

"I get that, but you don’t ever need to hide from me that you’re sad or need to cry, i’d rather you talked to me so we can work stuff out than you go off alone to cry and just make yourself more unhappy and hurt, _please_ try to talk to me in future, you don’t need to be scared anymore, talking is a better way to deal with things, even if you need to wake me up in the middle of the night to talk, _ok_?" Quinn reassures her, explaining how he feels about her sneaking off to cry alone and how he’d rather she talked and cried with him instead.

"C’mon, let’s go to bed, we’ll talk more then, alright?" He suggests, helping her up onto her feet and wrapping his arms around her waist, under her robe because it is no longer tied shut and he’s surprised to feel bare skin under his hands, when he pulls back a little to look down he’s shocked to find that under her silky robe all she’s wearing are the sapphire blue french knickers he loves so much, making him give her a half-smile before leaning in and kissing her gently.

She smiles up at him and steps back, taking hold of his hand before it can slide off her waist she turns and leads him upstairs by the hand, through the dark house, closing and locking their door behind her, as he reaches for the light switch she reaches out and pulls his hand away, leading him to the bed she slowly strips his robe off him and pushes him to sit down on the side of the bed, leaving her robe on she gently goes to her knees and places her head in his lap and her arms around his waist, holding him and taking comfort from him even as she feels his reaction to what she’s wearing pulsing under her cheek as she nuzzles against his belly and groin.

He strokes her hair comfortingly as she nuzzles his belly and lap, thinking she doesn’t realise what she’s doing to him, even as it makes him harder under her soft cheek and it’s making him feel the need to squirm he's so turned on but the last thing he wants is to make her think this is all about sex to him so he grits his teeth and just keeps carefully stroking her head while reminding himself that her scalp is injured so he _has_ to be careful.

As Quinn’s hand gently strokes over her head she feels him get even harder where she has him pressed under her face and decides that if he’s not going to make a move she is and slowly turns her head so she’s facing his lap, she quickly noses open the slit in his boxer briefs until his cock pokes out and stands proud in front of her allowing her to lick up his length from root to tip in one long slurp until she reaches the tip and catches up the bead of precum that’s welling at the slit, before slipping over and down to just below the head and sucking gently, even as he tries to find a way to pull her off without hurting her, a battle he’s losing spectacularly.

"Ru, _no_... not after earlier, just come to bed, let me lay and kiss you and touch you, _please_" Quinn begs in the end, Ruby looking up at him with tears in her eyes again until he asks "what’s wrong sweetheart, talk to me?"

"I... did I do it wrong _again_? I’m _sorry_! I just wanted to try it the way that it feels right to, feels more _natural_, I’m sorry I got it wrong _again_..." she says as tears start to roll down her face only to be wiped away by his thumbs instantly as he takes hold of both sides of her face.

"Ruby, sweetheart, you _didn’t_ do it wrong, I just didn’t want you to right now, not after earlier and how sore it must have made your throat, mouth and jaw, like i’d said we’ll save it for after the wedding if that’s ok with you?" Quinn explains, not wanting her to think she’d got it wrong again, just that he isn’t in the mood for that right now.

"So even though you didn’t want it I was doing it right? If I do that when you do want it then I’ll be getting it right?" She asks, begging for his approval and agreement that she can try again in the future.

"Yes darling, it was _perfect_, I’m just not in the right mood for that right now, now will you come back to bed and let me kiss you and touch you? I really want to make you feel good" Quinn answers, giving her an honest answer letting her know her instincts about the right way to do it were spot on before asking her to join him in the bed.

"I’d like that, can we do more than just having you touch me if it’s what i’d like?" She requests, wanting to show her appreciation for his thoughtfulness by making him feel as good as he makes her feel.

"You got it sweetheart, _now,_ come here and kiss me..." Quinn says as he slowly pulls her up to her feet, his now full erection poking out of his boxers letting her know just how on board with the plan he is.

Once he has her on her feet he pulls her to him where he’s sat on the side of the bed and puts his face between her breasts and starts kissing her warm, golden, velvety, skin as he slowly pulls her robe down from on her shoulders until it drops to the floor leaving her in only her sapphire french shorts which his hands run over before he cups her ass through them with both hands as she giggles lightly when his stubble rubs between her breasts.

He slowly pulls back from her chest before pulling her down and kissing her then whispering in a gravelly voice "get into bed My Lady" making her giggle again as she heads around the bed to get in under the covers in the dark while he climbs under them too.

"Ru..." Quinn whispers as she quickly scoots across the bed and into his arms, kissing him passionately as she moulds herself to his body, slowly rubbing her groin against his iliac crest as she makes whimpering, needy, sounds and grabs on to two handfuls of his curly dark blond hair, holding his head exactly where she wants it while she’s kissing him with more and more fervour.

As she rubs against the arch of his hip bone he moves one of his hands off her back where he’d been holding her steady and reaches down to grip her ass securely before moving his other hand down and between his belly and her thigh, working his way inward towards her femininity, when he reaches the edge of the silk shorts he’s only a little surprised to find the head of her clit poking out beside the gusset, out through one of the loose leg holes allowing her to grind it between his hip and her pelvic bone, getting her more and more excited with every grind against him she performs, he strokes the head of her clit with his fingertips, making her moan into their kiss and then pull back to ask "are you going to play with me, tease me or just make love to me? Because I’ll tell you what, I want you _desperately_!"

His head goes dizzy and light for a moment as all his blood heads south at her comment but rather than answer her question he just takes hold of her knee and her ass and rolls them until she’s laid on her back with him on top of her.

"You want me? You got me..." he tells her before kissing her and then moves his hand between them, pulling the gusset of her shorts to one side he very quickly places himself correctly and slowly pushes against her praying it will be easy this time.

Luckily he slowly slides straight into her until he’s fully sheathed inside of her, when he stops to allow himself to adjust she breaks their kiss and gives a long sigh of pleasure, loving the feel of him inside her, it’s the best thing she’s ever felt, the most natural sign of their love and attraction, she wishes he could always be there.

"Sean... _please... move!_" Ruby moans out quietly, obviously liking the feel of him inside her, which is always a relief for him, he always dreads that one day she’s not going to like the feeling after all the abuse she suffered.

He starts to move, slowly gliding in and out of her while she grips his ass through his boxers and pulls him in tight, making it clear to him that she wants more but he doesn’t want to just _Wham-Bam-Thank-you-Ma’am_ it, he wants to take the time to make love to her properly, like she deserves to be treated, so he ignores the strong fingers clawing into his butt cheeks and carries on with his mission to make love to her and make her feel loved.

"Sean... oh yes... so good!" She moans out into his ear, one of her hands leaving his ass to come up and take hold of a handful of his loose hair and turns his head to face her where she dives into a passionate kiss showing him all the love and trust she has for him, making him moan into the kiss and push his tongue into her mouth, taking control of the kiss so he can explore every inch of her mouth, making her moan in return.

When they break apart for air Quinn asks her "do you want to keep going like this or would you like to change position?" His voice being exceptionally gravelly due to his deep arousal for her.

"I’m happy to stay like this, as much as I like being on top and in control, being like this always makes me feel safe and protected and that’s how I want to feel right now, is that ok?" She explains, his eyes looking a little glisten-y showing how deep that has touched him, that she feels safe with him, but then again she doesn’t know the details of the things he’s done, and he’s going to have to tell her, very soon.

"That’s fine my lady, we can be any way you want, all you ever have to do is tell me what you want" he reassures her, picking up the pace of his thrusts just a little as he leans in and kisses her again, all gentle passion and slow thrusts and strokes with his tongue, showing her what’s in his thoughts.

As he kisses her and thrusts into her as lovingly as he can he runs his hand all over her body, from her face, down her neck, along her shoulder and back in along her collarbone before moving down and fondling her breast, playing with the nipple as well as stroking and massaging the rest of the breast making sure he makes her feel good, he caresses down her side making her giggle and twitch where she’s ticklish before moving down to her hip and then down the length of her thigh to her knee making sure to touch all the sensitive and erogenous spots as he strokes and caresses her before working his way back up her body again pleasure point by pleasure point.

"Oh Sean!" She cries out at his return to her breast, his thrusts having sped up quite a lot and the force behind them has increased some too, the added pleasure from his fondling enough to make her reach her peak and cry out, letting him know how good she’s feeling.

"Yes, My Lady, feeling good? Hope it’s good for you... want to make you feel good all the time, want to try for another?" Quinn pants into her hair, the sweat on his chest making it easier to glide in and out of and up and down her body, making their chests rub together as they move, Quinn thrusting and Ruby rising up to meet him on every thrust, her panting starting to squeak as her throat constricts, making him grin into her neck at this as he knows it’s a sign she’s enjoying herself and it makes him feel triumphant that he’s managing to bring her pleasure without any bad memories intruding.

"Yes... _please_... want more, want you to fill me..." she begs in reply to his questions, wanting him to know how good it is and that she always wants more from him, with him, because he’s her other half of her soul.

At her begging he starts to caress her all over again while thrusting into her more and more strongly as time passes, going faster and faster until he’s at full speed, then he sits up on his knees while still thrusting into her and takes hold of her unique four inch long clit, stroking its length like he would to a male lovers cock, touching all the parts he knows are most sensitive from their time together, before, just as he’s nearly on the edge, taking hold of the head of her clit and twisting his grip around it, bringing her to orgasm as she cries out for him "Sean!" While her clenching down on his length as he still moves within her drags him over the edge into his climax, his hips thrusting forward into her as deeply as he can before letting loose and exploding within her, filling her with his cum until he flops forward in exhaustion, his face laying between her breasts as she strokes his hair and the side of his face comfortingly and lovingly, showing him how loved he is.

"Ru... gotta pull out and move or my legs are gonna lock like this, sorry" He tells her after a few minutes, Ruby untangling her fingers from his hair and allowing him to push up to kneeling again before he pulls back out of her and flops down next to her, pulling her into his arms and snuggling her down so she can’t get away, Ruby giggling at the feel of his stubble rubbing her neck as she squirms into a comfortable position.

"Is everything ok now?" Quinn asks from his place snuggled against her, wanting to make sure that she’s not going to go off and get upset again.

"Yes Sean, everything is ok now, I’m happy, here with you, I’m so tired and we have a long day tomorrow, let’s go to sleep, I love you Sean" she replies, snuggling against him just a little more before her eyes start to drift closed.

"I love you too, Ruby, My Lady" He answers, his eyes flickering closed just moments behind hers as they both pass into sleep.


	9. Early morning wake up calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda and Quinn and ruby both have early starts to their day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it’s been too long since I posted last but between my CFS and an evil writers block I’ve come to I was kinda stuck, but fear not! While I’m blocked on this story there are two others Later in the series I’m working on and they’re going quite well so don’t stress there are stories coming!
> 
> I’ve posted this today to say happy Yule and wish you all a happy solstice and I’ll be posting another at midnightish on Christmas Eve as a Merry Christmas gift to you all, maybe even two, we’ll see how I feel.
> 
> I want to thank you all for still following these stories and I really hope y’all enjoy them, I have so much of this already written but it’s further on in the series and I still have a lot to write but I promise I’ll try my best to tell the story of Eliot and Jayda (and Quinn and Ruby it seems, talk about butting in!) I hope y’all stay with me for the journey.
> 
> Don’t forget kudos and comments make all the stress of writing as a hobby worthwhile and they’re a great (free) Christmas present to give someone who’s work you enjoy, so Happy Yule and I’ll see you in a few days.
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

It’s still dark when Jayda feels Eliot move away from her in the bed, she immediately reaches out and grabs his arm, pulling him back towards her before asking "where y' goin' darlin'?"

"Jus' goin' to have a shower, get ready to start off the pies and the dough for the rolls, it needs provin' before I can separate it out and make the rolls then bake them, and I need to get everythin' ready to make some sugar cookies so I have _somethin_' Sarah can do while I do the pies, so I gotta get up..." he says all in a rush, like he has only seconds to spare before something terrible happens.

"Darlin' calm down, you don’t need to worry about Sarah, I can keep her busy when you need me to and the rolls and pies won’t take that long, stop stressin', you got this, just cuddle me for a few minutes, _consider_ makin' love to me and then think about headin' for the shower, ok?" She replies, telling him that he’s over thinking and over stressing about something he can do with no problem.

"I’m sorry, I just want everythin' to be _perfect_, I haven’t had a proper Christmas since my last one with you, with Leverage things were always... _different_, with... with Moreau I would be workin' or... or _bein_' his... amusement, and when I was workin' alone or in the service it was just another day, nothin' special, so this is really, _really_ important to me, I can’t fuck it up, but I shouldn’t have tried to sneak out of bed, I’m sorry, now, what was that about makin' love to you? Because that sounds like a _mighty_ fine idea..." he explains before snuggling in and nipping at the unscarred side of her neck, one of his hands going to the centre of her back to pull her towards him while the other goes straight down between her legs so that he can gently tug on her clit ring, making her moan loudly as he kisses up her neck and across her face until he reaches her mouth, swallowing her next moan in an effort to not disturb John who is asleep downstairs.

While he’s kissing her Eliot pulls her ring again before letting go and moving his fingers back to her entrance, he’s unsurprised to find her wet, he knows some of it is his own release from the night before but by no means is all of it, not even most, so as always he smiles and marvels at how hot for him she always is, once his fingers are at her entrance he slowly and gently pushes two inside her, being reminded of just how close to being a virgin she is by how tight she is, he can’t help wondering if it’s all the years of not having sex that have left her so tight or if she’ll become looser the more sex they have, just as his knuckles come to rest against her labia and he strokes over her G-spot she makes a sound.

"_Yeesss_!" She hisses out, obviously a sound of pleasure as he continues to rub over her G-spot as he slowly pumps his fingers in and out of her, as soon as he’s stroked her G-spot once she reaches out and grabs hold of his very interested erection, slowly drawing his foreskin up over the head before sliding it down as far as is comfortable for him, starting a teasing pace while she alternates between squeezing him hard (but not too hard) and barely touching him, but the pace never changes and soon he’s panting against her neck while she quietly mewls into his.

"Want somethin' a little _more_?" Eliot asks her, waiting for her frantic nod before rolling her onto her back, she tries to roll him back the other way but he stops her, deciding that since he needs to work off some of his nervous energy he’s not willing to lay back and let her do everything.

"Nuh huh, I need to work off the energy, let me do the work this time, please?" He asks gently, getting an indulgent smile and a nod from Jayda in reply, so he smiles down at her and leans in for a kiss as he pulls his fingers slowly out of her with a lingering harder brush over her G-spot as he does, she instantly pulls him by his dick until he’s in the right position before lining his cock up with her entrance, her other hand coming round and grasping his butt before pulling him into herself hard.

"_Jay!_" He shouts out unexpectedly, completely engulfed by the feelings of  _TightWetHotMINE_ , that he’s experiencing, for some reason his wolf closer to the surface than usual, but he doesn’t spare even a moment to wonder why as he starts to thrust, not as slowly or gently as he usually starts but taking his lead from how harshly Jayda had pulled him into herself and how ramped up his adrenaline levels are, not to mention how sexually attractive he finds her too.

"Oh yes!" She cries out as he tries to kiss her quiet, neither of them want to make John listen to them be together, but she’s beyond worrying about it now she’s so deep into the pleasure Eliot’s bringing her as he thrusts into her while nibbling her Mating scar and holding her ass up so he’s grinding against her every time he thrusts, grinding her clit between them and pulling her clit ring with his pelvic bone as she wraps her legs around him, holding him tighter to her so that there’s even more pressure on her clit with every move he makes.

"_Sshhh_, Jay, try to be quiet, John's downstairs, bite if you need to but don’t make him listen to us, it’s not fair on him..." Eliot hisses at Jayda, giving her an alternative in the hope that she’ll manage to keep quiet, the last thing they need is a repeat of what happened with Quinn and getting burst in on because John thinks Jayda’s being hurt.

"Yes Alpha!" Jayda gasps out before squeaking and then burying her fully extended teeth into the tendon that runs all the way along the top of Eliot’s shoulder, muffling her scream as she cums, clamping around him, squeezing him so tightly it’s a fight to even stay inside of her, when she loosens off she slowly retracts her teeth, the feeling making both of them moan even as Eliot keeps thrusting into her, he’s still panting while she’s breathing heavily after relaxing for a few seconds after her orgasm allowed her to catch her breath, once their moans die away she leans into his ear and whispers "so perfect Alpha, so  _HardHotStrong_,  love you, can you get me there again?"

Hearing this makes Eliot groan deep in his chest, he wants to _Mate_ her, as wolves, chase her through the forest and catch her, pin her down and take her the way it’s meant to be between them, and just the thought of it is enough to get his adrenaline pumping again, and he knows that if he let it happen he could Change almost instantly and have her pinned, knotted even though he’s not in rut, forcing himself into her body over and over again until she won’t let him out anymore... he shakes his head suddenly to clear it when he hears himself growl in a way that is usually reserved for just before Changing, knowing that he’s skating a line that if he crosses it will get him neutered.

"El? Are you ok?... _El_?" She asks when she hears the growl, recognising it as a sign he’s about to Change and not wanting to be in this position if he’s going to Change, but her words seem to pull him back and he kisses her, so passionately and lovingly she figures that the growl was simply a sign of his want for her.

"'M ok, love you, gettin' close" he tells her between pants, his hips pistoning in and out of her while he grinds against her and bites at her neck, shoulders and breasts, she’s covered in bite marks, most of them have pierced the skin and have a small amount of blood around them but she’s loving the sensations of having his mouth on her while he makes love to her.

"I’m close again too, ready for you to get me off again, _love_ when you bring me pleasure!" She gasps back to him, the heights of her pleasure bringing her back to gasping again as her nails rip tears down his back as her back bows underneath him and she tightens down again, holding him tight within her as her internal muscles ripple and clench on him bringing him over the edge so that they both cum together with a harmonising howl that eventually trails off into the darkness.

After a couple of minutes Jayda says "I think John might have heard us..." completely deadpan and there’s silence for a couple of seconds before they both break out into gales of laughter, both of them trying to muffle it in the other's shoulder and neck.

When they calm down Eliot says "I should make a move, I really do have a lot to do today, wanna join me in the shower?" Before kissing her forehead and slowly pulling back out of her, allowing a mixture of their releases to flow out onto the bed.

"I think I better, and then I’ll put some laundry on before comin' and helpin' you, ok?" She says with a twist of her lips that Eliot sees because he’s just turned on the bedside light.

"_You know_, if the mess is an issue we can start using condoms, I don’t want you to be unhappy or uncomfortable" Eliot offers, completely unaware that his bond is showing a picture of a young wolf with their ears flopped down looking dejected.

"Eliot, if I wanted that I would have said so, we’re tryin' to add to our family, condoms would kinda get in the way of that, and anyway I like feelin' you cum inside me, it’s just when there’s a lot it’s a bit of a pain, but it’s nothin' I can’t handle, but if you _want_ to use condoms..." she says trailing off, knowing from the bond that he doesn’t want to use them so she doesn’t finish the offer.

"_No_, given the choice i’d prefer not to use them, you’re the only person I’ve ever not used them with and I prefer feelin' you properly so long as that’s ok with you" Eliot replies as he stands up, holding his hand out to her to help her up and then lead her into the shower.

Once they’re in the shower and Eliot has started the water Jayda realises how badly she’s hurt his back when she clawed him but she’d forgotten about his injuries and he hadn’t said anything, she turns him around and says "why didn’t you tell me how bad I hurt your back? I’ve cut all the way from your shoulders to your waist, through all those bruises and newly healed cuts! What about your other wounds? I can see your nipple is ok but what about the other two?" She asks before going down on her knees to take a good look at his still half-hard cock, the wound on his shaft is alright, it’s still scarred but the scar size is reducing every time she sees it so she’s not worried, then she pulls his cock downwards so that she can see into the slit and see the other cut, it looks sealed but very enflamed making her worry just a little but she knows what advice to give him about that, but sitting there with his now fully hard cock in her hands she just can’t resist and leans forwards and engulfs the top half of his cock, sucking quite hard and flickering her tongue at his frenulum under the head which has the desired effect of making him moan long and loud.

"Jay... _Jayda_, stop, _please_... as much as I want you again, as I’m sure you can tell, I really _do_ need to make a start, save this for tonight? I have a plan about something that’s new to you to try, if you’re up for it?" She pulls off when he asks her to stop but keeps hold of him, stroking him gently until he’s finished talking and is trying to get her to stand, she gives the head one last lick so she can taste his precum and then kisses it over the slit before allowing him to help her up.

They quickly begin to wash each other, Jayda being careful of Eliot’s wounds and Eliot being careful of the red bite marks all over her upper torso, neither of them wanting to hurt the other or aggravate their wounds any further, when they step out they quickly get dried then dressed, as always trying to avoid the pull they feel towards each other when they’re naked, Jayda putting on a spaghetti strap vest and black jeans before turning to look once Eliot has on his jeans but not his shirt, as he doesn’t want his wet hair to drip on his shirt, he helps Jayda strip the bed and then carries the dirty laundry and his shirt down the stairs to the basement for her, before coming back up to the kitchen together once the laundry is on and putting his shirt over the back of one of the breakfast stools.

Jayda has just switched on the kitchen night light for them to make a start when John's voice comes floating over from the sofas "never realised you _both_ howl when you’re human too, remind me to pop to town and buy some earplugs sometime today willya?" He says as he sits up, an eyebrow raised at them, making Eliot blush as he starts rummaging around for bowls to start mixing dough.

"_Sorry_, we tried to keep quiet but sometimes the wolf is more close to the surface than others, makin' us make more noise, sorry, we’ll try to either knock it off or keep it down more while you’re here" Jayda replies, horrifying Eliot with the thought of 'knocking it off' for over a week until they return to Portland.

"You guys don’t need to do that, like I said I’ll get some earplugs, I’ll be fine, but since it’s still so early would you mind if I caught a couple of hours in your bed while y'all are cookin'?" John asks politely, knowing he’s going to need more sleep to deal with either one or both of the twins when they’re excited for Christmas and most likely hopped up on sugar.

"Sure you can, but there’s no sheets on it, if you give me five minutes I’ll get you some and put them on but like I said yesterday if you want you can sleep upstairs with us, beds big enough and that’s one way to make sure we don’t disturb you by havin' sex, but the choice is yours, offers open permanently" Jayda tells him smiling, knowing full well that Eliot is going purple with embarrassment behind her.

"Don’t bother with the sheets, I’m fine how it is, so long as you don’t care?" John reassures her before heading for the stairs when she makes a 'go ahead' gesture, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he passes which Eliot isn’t too happy about seeing as how John's only wearing boxers and a wifebeater, but John stops mid-step when Eliot turns his back and John sees the state of his back.

"_Eliot_! Man what did they do to you? I mean I know what they did but your back! And what are those fresh cuts down..." John starts before Eliot turns to face him, and when John sees the bite mark on his shoulder realises what the cuts down his back are and what all the marks across Jayda’s chest and neck are too and he blushes hotly before turning to Jayda and saying "you need de-clawing kitty cat!" Using a nickname he had for her when they were younger, one that was only between them and it makes Eliot bristle, although he doesn’t say anything, but Jayda doesn’t need him to, she can feel what’s wrong through the Bond.

"Go to bed John, get some sleep before Sarah arrives because you know she’ll want to wake you up!" Jayda says to try to diffuse the situation, John walking past her and going to Eliot who stands there stiffly until John speaks.

"They shouldn’t have punished you like that, it was too much, you did the right thing protectin' those who are yours, I for one am glad you did and I would have taken the punishment for you if I could have" John says before reaching out and gently hugging Eliot, Eliot stays stiff because he’s not one for hugs generally and his back and shoulders are hurting quite a lot but he is touched by what John said.

"Thanks man, now get your ass to bed before I _conscript_ you!" He says before they both laugh and John heads up the stairs yawning while Eliot turns back to the pile of ingredients he has for making various rolls and pastry cases for the pies, Jayda able to feel through the bond that everything is alright with Eliot and John now as he starts to work.

RUBY/QUINN

Ruby is woken by the sound of someone rattling her bedroom door before knocking quickly on it, she looks to the window as she sits up and sees that it’s still dark outside, she sighs heavily as she pulls her robe on and ties it closed before unlocking and opening the door.

"_Sarah_! What are you doing up this early? You should still be in bed!" She says as she looks down at her elder daughters bright blue, shining eyes that are brimming with excitement.

"I wanted to get ready to go see mommy and daddy! I _miss_ them and want to spend as much time with them as I can before I have to come home! Can I have my shower now?" Sarah explains, making Ruby’s heart yank in her chest that she wants to spend more time with her '_real_' parents, even though she knows that’s not a fair thought to any of them and she should stop being so selfish, but it is way too early for Sarah to be showering and getting ready.

"What time is it now? It’s still dark!" Ruby asks, determined she’s not dropping Sarah off until a decent time because it’s not fair on Eliot, Jayda or John.

"Six thirty, but I’ve been awake for _ages_ and I can’t sleep so I wanted to get ready, it’s too early isn’t it?" Sarah replies, realising as she answers that she’s going to be told no.

"Yeah Bug, it kinda is, how about this, when it’s either eight am or the sun has risen above the horizon you can wake us up again and I’ll get you ready, I want you to spend plenty of time with your other mommy and daddy too so I’ll take you over at nine or as soon as you’re ready, in the meantime why don’t you draw a picture for cousin Thunderbird? Something nice he can take home with him to remind him of us?" Ruby tells her, hoping to get another hour or two of sleep if possible.

"Okay mommy, I’ll do that, sorry I woke you up too early, I didn’t mean to be bad" Sarah says, making Ruby’s heart ache for the abuse her daughter has suffered under the hand of Ruby’s deceased ex-husband.

"That’s okay Bug, you are just excited is all, and you weren’t being bad not at all, not even a tiny bit, so you go to your room until it’s time to wake me again, ok?" Ruby answers, reassuring Sarah as much as she can.

"Ok! See you soon!" Sarah says over her shoulder as she heads back into her bedroom to draw a picture for John to remind him of his family.

Smiling Ruby turns back into their bedroom and locks the door again, she quickly drops her robe and gets back into bed, sliding across and moulding herself around Quinn’s back where she gets a shock when he says "she over excited then?" As he turns in her arms to face her before kissing her chastely.

"Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s really missing them both too and she knows that when they go back to Portland she’s not going to see them for quite a while" Ruby replies before leaning in for a more loving, passionate, kiss, which he is quick to respond to, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against his body where she quickly feels his mounting excitement at the feel of her body against his.

"You fussed about getting more sleep or can I convince you to partake in some lovin' touches?" Quinn asks as his hand moves down to her ass and strokes over the silk shorts she’s still wearing before pulling her tightly against his own groin, allowing him to feel her clit filling, hardening and lengthening against his thigh that has slid between hers.

"Oh Sean, would rather have you than sleep!" She tells him before wriggling out of his grasp and diving under the covers, biting at his nipples, dragging her teeth over some of his ribs, sucking little love marks over his abs and licking around and into his navel, he has a feeling he knows where this is heading and while he’s worried about it he decides to see how things work out, letting his hand rest on the back of her neck rather than her head, as her scalp wound still needs a proper looking at, his free hand stroking her shoulder, arm and upper back as she slides even further down the bed before flickering tiny kitten licks all over his balls, after pulling his boxers out of the way, first in one spot, then another, then another, he never knows where she’s going to touch him next and it makes him all the more sensitive and hard, he’s quickly rising to full attention and can feel his pulse throbbing in his cock, then suddenly she licks across the slit in the head of his cock, tasting his precum, before she moves back to his balls, which she’s stroking now, as well as licking, and then again, unexpectedly, she has her mouth over the head of his cock and she’s sucking him just right as her tongue strokes that sensitive part, just below the join of the slit and the curve of the head, that perfect spot that feels so... _sensitive_.

"Oh Ru _Yes_!" Quinn exclaims, knowing he’s going to need to be vocal to let her know that what she’s doing is right and highly, if she carries on like this, pleasurable for him, he has no intention on letting her carry on until he cums but he’s going to let her carry on for a while before making love to her, assuming that’s what she wants.

As he’s thinking this through Ruby pulls back up along his cock, until she’s nearly nibbling at his head, as she gently rubs and nips her teeth together right on the edges of the slit, before sealing her lips around the slit and sucking hard, which makes him grunt with how sensitive the nibbling has made him before she pushes back down, further than before, sucking him hard all the while, making his hand on the back of her neck tighten into a fist in her hair as he moans very loudly, showing her just how good she feels to him as she starts to bob her head, while using her hand to jack the bottom part of his cock that isn’t in her mouth, working the root of his dick just as hard as she’s sucking his head while she moves along his length, her tongue tracing patterns all over his length, making him jerk up into her mouth a little, even against his own intentions, and as she continues to work him hard he realises just how quickly he’s shooting towards the edge, so suddenly he pulls back as much as he can before stopping her with two fingers under her chin pulling her up towards him again.

"Ru, stop... enough for now or I’ll be spilling before we even get started" he explains as she comes up from under the sheets and into his arms, holding him tightly while she buries her head under his chin and asks "was I any good?" From where he can see neither her face or eyes.

"Ruby, that was fucking _perfect_! That was exactly how a blowjob should be, but I didn't want to cum yet, I want to make love to you, that’s why I had to stop you, you were a little _too_ good, too quick, and I didn’t want to let you down" Quinn explains himself while answering her question before he adds "can I do that? Make love to you?"

"Of _course_ you can, but you didn’t have to, you could have finished, I wouldn’t have minded, I kinda like the idea, but whatever you want is fine, so long as what I’m doing makes you happy" she answers, each of them making sure the other knows that their pleasure is what’s most important to them.

Quinn puts two fingers under Ruby’s chin again and brings her out from where she is hiding under his, tipping her head back so that he can kiss her gently and lovingly, he knows that with as far as she’s brought him towards his climax he’s most likely not going to last too long so he starts with just touching her, his fingers trailing down her neck to her breast, his other hand coming up to her other breast his thumbs circling her nipples before pinching them and twisting them gently, eliciting a moan as Ruby tips her head back, giving him space to kiss and mouth at her neck as his dominant hand strokes down her ribs then her belly, eventually following her pelvic bone's curve down to her mound, which he reveals by pulling her shorts to one side, the loose legs making sure there is plenty of room for him, her mound lays open to him, her mound which is now covered in a light scattering of short hair which breaks up the appearance of her scars and makes it difficult to tell what they are, something he’s _immensely_ grateful for, he slides his fingers back from the top of her slit and immediately comes in contact with her clit, standing proud of her body and begging for attention, if it had been a cock it would be weeping precum by now as it strains towards his touch every time he breaks contact with her.

"Oh Ruby, you’re so _hard_ for me, love it when you’re like this for me, you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever known" he whispers in her ear as he both runs his fingers along her clit heavily and rubs his erection against the hip of her silk shorts making him moan at the feel of the smooth, slick, material under his hot flesh, wanting nothing more than to slide into her and make her his again.

"Sean, don’t tease me anymore, want you inside of me, _please_?" She begs sweetly, Quinn unable to resist her when she asks for anything but even more so when she asks for something he wants to give her.

"Yes!" He replies, before kissing her hungrily, devouring her mouth and swallowing her moans as he jacks her clit as if it were a cock, then when their kiss breaks he lets go, making Ruby give a moan of disappointment that quickly ends when he moves to between her thighs and slides his length along her clit, making her sigh, before he pushes further back until he’s at her entrance, pausing there just to tease her before ever so slowly pushing in, taking his time and enjoying the slow, sensuous, slide until he’s fully inside of her, as close as they can get while she moans in pleasure, her lips pressed against his neck, making the vibration press against his pulse point which is even more sensitive, this in turn makes him even harder and makes him twitch inside of her where he’s resting still, the feeling of him twitching making her giggle before she turns his head to kiss her.

"So good!" She sighs out as he begins to move, his hips moving in a circular, grinding pattern which makes her bring up her legs to around his waist, hooking them together at the small of his back so that she can pull him tighter against her as he moves, crushing her clit between their bodies making her moan out in pleasure, Quinn kissing her hungrily again to swallow the sound and muffling it from the rest of the residents of the house, not only because he doesn’t want them to disturb anyone but because he greedily wants to keep her sounds of pleasure for himself, as something only he has ever heard.

He thrusts into her, as always thrilled by the feeling of being inside her where she’s hot and tight and wet, he’s barely begun to move and she’s tightening down on him already, her body giving him signs that she’s nearing her orgasm quickly, and those signs are bringing him close to his own and he wants to last longer but he’s not sure he can, so he steps up the speed of his thrusts, just a little, but it’s enough to push her over the edge, her channel tightening down on him, the muscles rippling along and clenching down on his length, and the feeling is sublime, making his vision white out as he follows her over the edge when she bites him at the peak of her orgasm, both of them riding the feelings of her muscles tightening and releasing around him until the contractions wane and they’re both able to catch their breath through the kisses they can’t stop giving each other.

"Mmm Sean... that was _wonderful_, and I love laying here like this, but I need you to move... I gotta pee, sorry!" Ruby tells him, waiting until he’s pulled out of her and is leaning down for one last kiss before telling him "I love you" giving him his kiss and then slipping out from underneath him, heading for the bathroom as Quinn faceplants right into the pillows before grabbing one of hers to hug and curling around it, already looking like he’s going to sleep again.

When Ruby comes back out of the bathroom Quinn has pushed the pillow away and is laid starfished face down across the middle of the bed, the only thing hiding his modesty being the boxer briefs he’s still wearing, she shakes her head fondly and picks up the duvet from where it fell off the bed during their lovemaking and throws it over him, allowing it to settle gently over him, she pulls it straight and makes sure he’s properly covered before picking up his robe from on the floor and putting it on because it’s warm and fluffy and big for her and most of all it smells of Quinn, which makes her feel like he’s hugging her, and then sets off for Sarah’s room so she can give her a shower and help her get ready to go see Jayda and Eliot, seeing as how she can’t get back into her own bed.


	10. Be prepared!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John oversteps a serious line and Eliot has to have words with him while Quinn has to have a deep and meaningful talk with Ruby that might spell the end of their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know! I was meant to post on Christmas Eve but my CFS kicked my ass and made me sleep for three days, so I’m posting two chapters now as an 'I’m sorry!' Even though I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open I will post a second chapter I promise!
> 
> I’m still having writers block on this story but one of the others I’m writing is going well, but you won’t get to read that one for quite a while as it comes much further in the series, sorry!
> 
> As a Christmas gift I want to send you all to read "the redemption of Eliot Spencer" And "the Wapanjara chronicles" series' by The Tetrarch They are a wonderful pair of series that I have thoroughly enjoyed And I’m sure you will too, however be aware there is no relationship stuff in her stories so if you’re only here for the porn you *might* be disappointed.
> 
> I hope y’all have had a wonderful Christmas and go on to have a rockin' new year!
> 
> Lots of love to y'all, enjoy darlin's!

JOHN

John wakes when he hears someone sneak in the room, where usually he’d be on any intruder within seconds, his 'abilities' allow him to practically 'see' who it is just from their scent, the sound of their movements, no matter how softly they walk, his superior eyesight that allows him to see further than others as well as in pitch darkness and if he was tracking them, by the smallest sign of their passing, this part of his abilities is very similar to the local wolves but not from the same source, however he can tell it’s Jayda so he stays where he is, giving the illusion he’s asleep so she won’t feel bad for waking him, she rummages in her closet for a minute then retreats again closing the door behind her.

Once he can hear she’s down the stairs he flops over on his back, all too aware of the erection he’s sporting after being laid with his head on Jayda’s pillow, smelling her heat scent and scent of sexual arousal and fulfilment, and there’s no way he could stop himself from getting excited or from reaching down and taking hold of himself, he _knows_ it’s wrong, but he’s always wanted Jayda, but she was always in love with Eliot, she spent her life waiting for him and John is a _tiny_ bit resentful towards Eliot for it, cause he'd just wanted a chance but when it happened it was over before it began because of Eliot and John feels just the slightest bit robbed, but if he can’t have her he can at least have this, his own pleasure, surrounded by her scent.

He changes from gripping himself through his boxers to slipping his hand under the waistband, rubbing his thumb over the head of his cock as his hand moves past it until he can take a grip of the base of his cock, slowly stroking the root just above his balls, taking a deep breath in of Jayda’s heat scent that has soaked into the pillows on the bed during the last week, he knows that if he uses his abilities he’d be able to pretty much see what they did earlier but John doesn’t want to see Eliot be with her, he just wants to see her alone, pleasuring herself, but he knows that’s something he’s unlikely to ever see now Eliot is with her, so he closes his eyes and imagines instead.

He can see her in his mind's eye, laying on the bed, naked, one hand on her breast and the other between her legs, her fingers slowly circling her clit as she pinches at her nipple and bites her lip, the picture of seduction and teasing pleasure, as her fingers start to come closer to her clit he circles the weeping slit of his cock with his thumb, teasing gently in a match to her movements in his imagination, he doesn’t have to guess what Jayda looks like naked, he was there for Sarah’s birth, helped Diwali when things started to turn bad, so he’d seen Jayda in all her naked glory, albeit not when she was at her best, so he remembers the details and adds them to his imaginings of her body.

In his mind she starts to rub her clit, not too hard or fast, not yet, but while he pictures her doing that his own hand starts to stroke, long smooth strokes along the length, occasionally twisting his wrist when his hand reaches the head, giving himself some more intense pleasure while his thumb strokes over his slit and gathers the precum leaking out of him there to lubricate the slide of flesh against flesh, wishing he could taste Jayda, just once, he knows that her scent is very close to how she’d taste so he turns his head and buries it even deeper into her pillows making sure that all he can smell is her.

As his movements begin to speed up John imagines Jayda’s hand moving, slowly sliding down her inner labia until she reaches her entrance, circling it, gathering her wetness onto her fingers, and he wonders, is she going to use the slick to rub her clit faster or is she going to finger herself open as if waiting for him? The anticipation of the wondering making him pant as his hand now squeezes a little tighter with every stroke.

He teases himself with the wondering for a few seconds more of the image of her rubbing around her entrance before the question is answered as she gently slides her fingers into her hungry hole, stroking them quickly in and out as he can see she’s straining to reach her G-spot, and he can see when she hits it, her head throwing back and her back bowing up from the bed leaving her resting on her shoulders and her ass and nothing in between, as he watches this in his mind he gives a twist on the end of every stroke, and he’s so close, she’s giving such a good show for him, so he reaches down and starts to massage his own balls, before going back to his thoughts of Jayda.

As he watches her her fingers slip free of her pussy's grasp and slide back up to her now swollen and reddened clit, and starts to really rub at it, going in circles or just side to side she rubs hard and fast, occasionally pinching at it to make it even more sensitive and John can tell she’s on the edge, her panting breaths, her feet scrabbling for a secure foothold to push against even as her toes curl with the pleasure, her face, neck and torso all turning bright red, and he’s right there with her, on the edge, just about to let loose, when suddenly, unexpectedly, Jayda’s eyes open and snap up to look at him as she cries out "Oh John, YES!!!" As she cums and he follows her straight over the edge, his breath getting caught in his throat making him choke a little before he growls her name and his cock pulses and twitches then spurts his cum, which he quickly catches in his hand, rather than soak his boxers which he has to go back downstairs in to get his bag, and he really doesn’t want the guys to see and know what he’s done, so he does his best to catch it all before waiting a minute to get his breathing under control then using his clean hand to manoeuvre off the bed and into the bathroom where he washes his hand off along with the few leaked spots on his lower belly, all the time thinking about how his mind had added her seeing and speaking to him at the end, but now he’s starting to feel really guilty about this, he shouldn’t think about his only family this way, or his best friend, especially not now she’s Mated to someone else, he knows he should leave so he’s not tempted but he’s said he’ll stay now and he knows Jayda would blame herself if he left and then he’d have Eliot hunting him down for upsetting her, so he’s just got to not think of her this way, for everyone’s sake, especially his own.

After deciding this John realises he’s been washing his hands for about five minutes so he turns off the tap and dries his hands before going and sitting on the side of the bed, he sits there for a few minutes getting control of his body's functions, breathing, shaking hands, flushed skin, messed up hair (although he could just pass that off as bed head) and waiting for his pupils to return to normal, once everything appears normal John gets up and heads down the stairs to go grab some clothes out of his bag before taking a shower.

As he comes into view of the kitchen he sees Jayda and Eliot huddled together whispering to each other while Sarah plays with some dough kneading it and then shaping it, John idly wonders what it’s going to be as he walks past and ruffles her long, thick, auburn hair making her look up and smile at him happily, he heads over to where he left his bag hidden behind one of the sofas and picks it up before coming back to the kitchen area and saying "Jay? Is it ok for me to leave my bag on the window seat upstairs? It’ll be outta the way and close when I want to go for a shower, if that’s ok?"

"That’s fine, no problem, Hey Sarah come with me and pick those herbs daddy wants ok?" Jayda replies and then gets Sarah to go out the back door with her, then Eliot turns to John and speaks.

"John, we need to have a little _talk_, you realise that all three of us who were downstairs this mornin' have heightened senses of smell and hearin' right? Well none of us were tryin' to invade your privacy but... what you did earlier... Sarah could hear you and then later smell... well you know, and Jay and I both heard what you said at the end... you don’t need me to tell you,... look, I _don’t_ care about you doin' it but I _do_ care about you doin' it in _our_ bed, that’s _our_ place, use the shower next time ok? It’ll save all these problems, please" Eliot explains, trying his best to be discreet while getting his thoughts across.

"El, I’m sorry, it never crossed my mind that y’all could hear me or smell... and I’m sorry about the bed, you’re _right_ it was out of line, I’ll apologise to Jayda later when Sarah’s gone home, I... I have no excuse, I’m _sorry_" John apologises, feeling guilty that he’s probably brought unwelcome questions from Sarah about sex and self-love not knowing that those questions had already been answered recently.

"It’s okay, the rules are set now so that’s the end of it, just remember, she’s _MY_ Mate, ok? Now c’mon go have a shower and then you can help mix pie fillin's" Eliot replies, laying his law out and making sure he knows better than to cross him.

"Ok, what are you goin' to want me to do?" John asks just as the back door opens and Sarah and Jayda return with the herbs Eliot had asked for.

"Everythin' ok? Good, now fillin's for pies and Sarah’s little treat for Wahya!" Jayda says as she hands most of the herbs to Eliot and places the rest on a chopping board right in front of where Sarah had been working on her dough.

"First things first!" Eliot says in a slightly loud voice before continuing "_everybody_ wash their hands before they touch any food!" Making sure nothing was going to contaminate the food he was making, John laughs lightly before heading to the shower, finding that he’s a little bit in love with this whole cute family unit, to his surprise, so he continues to smile even as he gets into the shower.

RUBY/QUINN

Ruby has just gotten home after dropping Sarah off at Jayda’s and getting just a few odd groceries and a few things her father needed for the meal tomorrow, she parks the truck and climbs down to be engulfed in a huge hug from Quinn who’d been waiting for her return since he woke up to find they’d already left, it had been a long wait because of the queues in the market.

"Hey _you_! You should have woken me to come with you!" He admonishes her but the effect is ruined by the loving kiss he gives her straight after.

"And have you _bored_ stood in line at the market for over half an hour? I’d rather you got the extra sleep, you’ll need it for tomorrow!" She replies, her arms around his neck as he squeezes her ass gently.

"Let me carry the groceries in for you and then we’ll have a chat, ok?" He says as he lets go of her and goes to the back of the truck and grabs the two bags of shopping, carrying them into the house as Ruby holds the door open for him.

Once the bags are on the counter they come together for another loving kiss, Ruby worrying about this 'talk' he wants to have but before she can ask him she realises how quiet it is.

"Sean? Where’s Jane? It’s _too_ quiet..." she asks, looking around the huge kitchen before turning her eyes back to Quinn.

"Your dad took her out, said it was something to do with being a Shaman he had to prepare and he’d take Jane to burn off some of her energy, he had her wrap up really warm so wherever they are she should be fine" he tells her as he starts to put away the shopping in the right places, and there is something slow-roasting in the oven she realises when her stomach rumbles at the delicious smell.

Once all the shopping is away Ruby looks up at Quinn and asks "what is it you want to talk about?" Sounding scared and unsure, fearing that this is the point where he tells her he has doubts about/is postponing/is cancelling the wedding and she can’t help the fact that her knees, hands and jaw all start to shake as her eyes fill with tears.

"_Ruby_! What’s _wrong_? Why are you crying? It’s all ok, _sssshhhh_...." is Quinn’s panicked reaction to seeing her eyes fill with tears, his arms wrapping around her tightly while he strokes her hair from her head all the way down her back as he moves her to one of the dining chairs and gets her to sit before he squats in front of her.

"Ru, My Lady, tell me what’s wrong? I _love_ you, I don’t want you to be upset..." he begs, not knowing what he’s done wrong but sure it’s his fault.

"You... you’re... you’re going to _leave_ aren’t you? You’re can... c- _cancelling_ the wedding, right?" She asks him, almost sending him over on his ass he’s that shocked.

"NO! What on _earth_ gave you that idea? Of course I’m _not_ cancelling the wedding! I love you and I can’t _wait_ to be married to you!" He exclaims before going onto his knees so that he can hug her tightly and kiss her all over her face before claiming her lips in a fiercely passionate kiss.

"You’re _sure_?" She asks quietly as he holds her, sounding so lost and alone it breaks his heart.

"I’m sure, I’ve never wanted _anything_ as much as I want to marry you and spend the _rest_ of my _life_ with you, I can’t _wait_ for next week to arrive! What _did_ make you think _that_?" He reassures her before asking where this came from.

"You said you wanted to '_have a talk_' I know you’re not going to hurt me physically like Jared would when he said that but I’m _sure_ it’s bad news, what is it?" She answers, her words about knowing he wouldn’t hurt her making him feel warm inside until she adds the word physically, meaning she isn’t sure he won’t hurt her emotionally or psychologically.

"Ru I would _never_ hurt you, not willingly, in _any_ way, but there is a chance that _you’re_ going to cancel the wedding after I’ve told you what I need to, I hope you _won’t_ but it’s time for me to explain about _who I am and what I’ve done_, **before** we get married" he explains, hoping so much that this isn’t going to destroy everything he’s built here.

He strokes her cheek with his thumb and kisses her gently before climbing to his feet and sitting in the chair next to hers once he’s turned it to face hers which he’d turned before she sat on it.

"_Okay_, I know I told you some basics about me on the day we met but I have to tell you it all properly, I hope you can forgive it all" Quinn says as a starting point, his hands clenched together between his knees, wanting to reach out for her hand but scared to right now.

"Obviously in the armed forces you have to shoot at people and you rarely know what happens to them, but I’m hoping you can forgive that easy enough, when I was a mercenary I killed people, up close and _personal_, sometimes with a gun, sometimes with a knife and sometimes with my bare hands, I’ve kidnapped people, held them hostage, I’ve _tortured_ people to death, guarded the door while they were abused, although I _never, ever_, raped anyone, I drew a line at that, most employers didn’t care, they had enough eager, willing men happy to do that, I wouldn’t help them, hold their victims down, but I would stand outside the door and guard it, and every sound I heard while doing that _haunts_ me to this day..." Quinn starts before trailing off and getting up to go get a glass of water, he brings Ruby a bottle of vodka and a small glass, thinking she might need it.

After a gulp of water Quinn licks his lips and continues "when I left being a mercenary behind to become a retrieval specialist I would take jobs for assassinations or kidnappings or torture but never anything where a woman or child was being abused, i’d kill or torture them but never anything where she was to be abused first, I didn’t agree with it, and nothing to do with kids except kidnapping and always with the stipulation that the kid goes home _safely_ at the end, never _anything_ where the kid could be hurt in any way, after a while I realised I hated doing the assassinations so I stopped taking those jobs, the number of times I heard 'going soft like _Spencer_ did are you?' I was so _sick_ of hearing it! I was glad when I was finally sent against him, i’d grown to hate _The Legend of Eliot Spencer!_ But I respected him after he beat me, but anyway back to the story... where was I?...oh yeah, so I stopped taking assassinations and really cut back on the torture and kidnapping, set myself up as a retrieval specialist and K&R specialist, still got sent into fights, like the one with Eliot but it was mostly package retrieval and delivery, sometimes some theft was involved, but nothing like the guy's level of thievery, and that was what I’ve been doing ever since, until I half joined their merry little band, but the things you need to know are,... ten children kidnapped, two men and eight women, twenty six men assassinated, and eleven women, thirty four men murdered, and sixteen women, twenty seven men and thirteen women tortured and I listened while five men and nine women were raped... and I have nightmares about it all when I’m stressed but not when I’m happy, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, so... _do you still want to marry me?_" Quinn goes through the gory parts of his history before asking what to him is the most important question.

Ruby sits quietly, staring at her hands that are folded in her lap, a frown line between her eyebrows as she works to take in everything he’s just info-dumped on her, eventually she looks up at him and asks "is there _anything_ else you want to tell me?" Looking at him with troubled eyes below that brow with the frown line.

"Erm... well... I _guess_... I love you with all of me, no matter what you’re the one I want to be with, but... I’m... I’m very _attracted_ to Eliot, I always have been, ever since he beat my ass, we’ve _talked_ about it and you and Jayda are more important to each of us than thinking of each other that way, so we’ve chosen to be _just friends_, but I thought you should know the attraction is there even though we’d _never_ do anything about it... do you _hate_ me now?" Quinn confesses as he can’t stand her looking at him like that while keeping a secret from her.

"No I don’t hate you, but I _wish_ you’d been honest about it earlier, but I _trust_ you and Eliot to not do that to me and Jayda, does she know?" Ruby replies getting a nod in answer she continues to sit looking at her folded hands while she thinks.

"What’s in the past is in the _past_, you’re _not_ a killer anymore except in defence of another life, which is a fair reason, and you _help_ people now, and _you_ chose that path for yourself, not because you were trying to _impress_ me or anything, so I _trust_ you, trust you to keep me and our daughters safe, like you already have, I _don’t_ hate you, and I don’t want to cancel the wedding, I want to _marry_ you so long as that’s what you want still?" Ruby continues, and Quinn knows that although she’s accepting it it’s going to take a while for it all to sink in, he just hopes she doesn’t change her mind.

As she finishes speaking she looks up and sees the insecurities in his eyes and just launches herself at him, she ends up sat on his lap with her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist while his mouth opens and closes silently like a goldfish making her giggle before she leans in and kisses him sweetly, showing him her unshakeable love for him.

"Are you _sure_ you’re okay with this? It’s a _lot_ to take in, a lot of deaths when all counted together, as well as everything else, I _don’t_ want to lose you but I want you to be _sure_ you can live with me knowing this" Quinn replies before leaning in for another sweet kiss.

"I’m gonna need to get it all straight in my head but you told me the bare bones of it that first day, you’re still the same man and I still love you, everything is okay, alright?" Ruby tells him right before the door opens and Diwali and Jane come in through the freezing wind it lets in, making Ruby shiver on Quinn’s lap, so he wraps his arms tighter around her in an effort to give her some of his body heat.

"Hello you two, keep it clean at the table please, Quinn I’m going to need you and Eliot to move the tables later tonight when he’s finished his cooking for the day, would you mind calling him and arranging a time for that please?" Diwali greets them before putting something in a bag on the counter, making Ruby frown.

"Dad? What’s in the bag? Was there something you needed that you didn’t trust me to get?" Ruby questions, feeling somehow insulted.

"No Ruby, it was something I forgot to ask you to get me, and I needed to do a few Shaman things too, so I decided to take Jane and get it myself while Quinn did a few things, there’s nothing I wouldn’t trust you to do for me, you _know_ that" Diwali answers before looking at her hard as if to see what’s wrong written on the inside of her skull.

"Sorry dad, I know, I guess I’m just feeling paranoid today, forgive me?" She asks, knowing he’ll be understanding and forgive her her trust issues.

"It’s fine daughter, so I have to start getting things ready so are both of you alright entertaining Jane while I cook or should I have her help me?" Her father replies, giving them the option of being alone longer if they want.

"Well how about we ask Jane what she wants to do?" Ruby answers before turning to her younger daughter and asking her "what do you _want_ to do Tazzie? Come do something with me and daddy or cook with grandfather?"

Jane looks from her parents to her grandfather before answering "i’d like to spend time with mommy and daddy but first I need grandfather to help me make a Christmas treat for Wahya to eat while we have Christmas dinner, it’s Christmas for him too, he deserves something nice too, if that’s ok?"

"That’s fine sweetheart, we’ll be around when you’re done, anything either of you need just yell, we’ll be in the living room, now I should go ring Eliot, have fun Tazzie!" Quinn answer’s her before gently setting Ruby on her feet and leading her into the hall and then the living room where he puts her on the sofa while he picks up the remote and hands it to her saying "pick us a movie" before pulling out his phone.

Moments later Eliot answers his phone and growls "_yes_?"

"Hey El it’s Quinn, Diwali wanted me to call and ask what time is good for you for moving the tables? I figured you’d probably want to do it before Sarah’s bedtime so she’s not disturbed by us getting the table out of your house and the same for Jane here, so when’s good for you?" Quinn asks.

"Right give me a sec to think... they _need_... and then _that_... maybe around five? Is that ok? Me and John can get this table and chairs sorted no problem and if I come straight there we can put that table on your truck together and then any extra space needed for chairs we can try and fit on my truck, plus any presents you wanna put under the tree there too, that sound ok?" Eliot replies after doing some maths to sort out cooking times for his pies.

"Yeah that sounds good, I’ll see you at fiveish, see you soon El, bye!" Quinn finishes the call, hanging up when he hears a "yeah bye!" From a distracted sounding Eliot then sitting down on the sofa next to Ruby.

"Everything ok?" Ruby asks before snuggling in to his side which makes him beam with contentment.

"Everything is great, Eliot and John are going to put their table onto their truck and then El will come here and help me with your dads about fiveish, so what movie are we watching?" Quinn tells her cheerfully.

"I thought we could watch a classic, It’s A Wonderful Life, if that’s ok?" Ruby asks, worried that Quinn might not like her choice.

"I’ve never seen it, it’s not one we watch in the U.K. and when I moved here I was always at boarding school so I never saw it and I’ve barely ever spent Christmas in the USA since then so it never came up, but I’m more than happy to watch it with you if you promise to cuddle into me the whole time?" Quinn informs her, elaborating when he sees her shocked face at his comment that he’s never seen it.

"So do you know the plot even? And of course I’m going to snuggle with you, although I am going to get us drinks and snacks before we start the film, ok?" Ruby replies, more than happy to watch the movie in his arms, especially since he’s never seen it.

"Nope I have no idea what the plot is, it’s a completely new experience for me! And yes, move that sexy ass and get us movie snacks!" He replies before unwrapping his arm from around her so she can get up and head for the kitchen, being hurried along by a gentle slap to the ass.

When she returns with drinks and snacks Ruby settles against him and pulls his arm around her shoulders tightly, snuggling in closer she starts the movie and prepares for Quinn's reactions, she’s going to enjoy this!


	11. Manual labour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot does a lot of work then gets to relax with his friend and his family before heading home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the second chapter, hope y’all’s enjoy it,
> 
> Merry Christmas darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA/JOHN/SARAH

Eliot drops his phone on the counter and turns back to Sarah before asking "have you put everythin' you want in there now Bug?" Talking about the pastry she’s made for Wahya to have for Christmas dinner, completely unaware that her sister is doing the same thing, as she looks down at the pastry parcel on the board in front of her.

"I don’t know, do you think it’s ok for him daddy? I don’t want to make it gross or nasty for him to eat" she replies before looking up at him with worried eyes and a bitten bottom lip.

"I think it’ll be perfect, you trust me that the flavours will be nice, right? So let’s pop it in the oven" he says once he’s received her nod of permission, scooping the little parcel up and putting it into the oven with two of the pies, the pumpkin and the apple, the whole house smelling of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices with a hint of sugar overlaying it all, making the house smell of _HomeSafePackDen_ making Eliot’s wolf calm down from his usual state of hyper-vigilance to a relaxed tongue-lolling sprawl in his mind, it’s a nice change, even here he’d been vigilant, although not as bad as usual as being with _Jayda-Mate_ calms him down a lot, but with everything that’s happened he hasn’t relaxed properly until now, but it feels so good to have his Pack with him, his Mate and their pup right here, safe, and with John to help him protect them it’s like he can just be calm for once, just for tonight.

"Hey, you done for a bit? I was wondering how everyone felt about watching a movie before some of our guests arrive?" Jayda says as her arms slide around his waist from behind, making him smile at her loving hug before she stands on her toes and kisses the back of his neck then slides around in front of him, between him and the kitchen island.

"I’m up for a movie, but what _guests_? I didn’t know we were having any other guests?" Eliot replies even as Jayda gives him an innocent look.

"Did I forget to mention it?... _well_ Parker and Hardison should be landin' in about an hour, they said not to come get them they’ve still got a van on hire, Abby’s comin' over, she usually hangs out with me on Christmas Eve since we were always both single, I invited Eric too because he has no people either, everyone is gonna pop to dads first to say 'hi' and 'thanks for invitin' us' and then head here, Ruby and Quinn would come but it’s their first Christmas together and Quinn’s first bein' a father so Ruby doesn’t want him to miss a moment of that, so we’ll have a few quiet drinks the bunch of us and we’ll probably drunk Skype Ruby and Quinn just so they’re not left out, there’s a couple of people not arrivin' until tomorrow but we’ll see them at the barn when it’s time to set up for dinner, I think that’s everythin', sorry I _thought_ i’d told you" Jayda explains before batting her eyelashes at Eliot, making him sure she didn’t tell him on purpose, but he’ll find out why later.

"Right well that’s good to know, how am I gonna _feed_ everyone?" Eliot asks her with his 'constipated' look firmly set on his face.

"Oh! Don’t worry about that! Dad has a load of stuff for you to bring back with you after movin' the tables, he said it’s the least he can do in return for your help movin' the tables and cookin' dinner, he wouldn’t take no for an answer, so snacks for tonight are sorted" she replies looking genuinely embarrassed that she forgot to tell him this time.

"Ok! C’mon then, let’s watch this movie!" He declares, deciding that letting her off is more in the Christmas spirit that he wants to teach their daughter than starting an argument just before a Christmas Eve party, so he settles on the couch with Sarah snuggling into his side under his arm and his free arm around Jayda, beside who sits John, who’s just arrived back from a quick shopping trip which he used as an escape to stop having to prepare pie fillings and get a few last minute things, as soon as they’re all sat comfortably Jayda turns on the tv and starts the movie, but Eliot’s not paying attention to the film, he’s too busy staring at Jayda lovingly as he basks in the knowledge that she’s his and she loves him, making him smile and feel _HomeLoveMate_, so strongly it _almost_ could reduce him to tears with just how lucky he is.

**********************************************************************************

Once the film is finished and Eliot has taken the last pie out of the oven he and John take the table apart and carry it and the chairs out to the truck, all of Jayda’s work equipment being shoved onto the desk in the corner of the room that’s full of books, they manage to get everything secured quickly and then they come back in where Eliot gets Sarah’s attention.

"Hey Bug! It’s time for me to head over to your grandfathers house, can I get a hug?" He asks, knowing she’s going to be sad, and she drags her feet coming around the sofa to where he’s stood, wrapping her arms around his legs and squeezing tightly.

"Daddy, can’t you go over later? Please?" She begs, thinking that it’s time for her to go home to Ruby and Quinn.

"I can’t sweetheart I have to sort out these two tables with Quinn, but it shouldn’t take long and then I’ll be back" he tells her as he strokes her head while she buries her face in his hip.

"But I don’t _wanna_ go! I wanna stay _here_ tonight! Wanna be with my mommy and daddy! Please? _Please_?" She cries out before bursting into tears, clutching at his jeans desperately.

Eliot drops down onto one knee and enfolds her in his arms, pulling her in close and sitting her on his raised knee he holds her as she cries and he strokes her hair down the length of her back while saying "ssshhhh, _hush_ now Bug, you don’t have to go back, Ruby said you can stay here tonight and go home later tomorrow after dinner and everythin', alright? There’s no need to cry or be upset, you’re spendin' your first Christmas with me and your mommy tonight now give me a little smile before I go to your grandfathers, ok?"

"I’m sorry daddy" she murmurs into his neck as he continues to stroke her hair down her back before she leans back from him and gives him the smile he’s asked for, lighting up his world as he smiles back at her.

"That’s ok Bug, now you look after mommy and make sure everythin' is ready for our guests while I go carry tables and chairs, be good!" He tells her, putting her back on her feet before he stands up and she runs around the sofa to sit with Jayda, smiling at him together over the back of the couch before he heads out for Diwali’s, leaving John to protect them.

ELIOT/QUINN/DIWALI

When Eliot arrives at Diwali’s house he’s greeted by Quinn who’s stood in the open front doorway with a grin having heard Eliot’s truck coming down the driveway, he’d not long seen Ruby and Jane off from the same place as Ruby took Jane to go ice skating as a special treat, she’d been a bit upset that Quinn wasn’t going with them but he’d promised to do something with her when they got back to make up for it and that brought a smile to her face, so he’s in a bit of a hurry to get everything moved.

"Hey El! You got everything from Jay's ok? Let’s get Diwali’s table into his truck alright? Then once everything is set up at the barn we’ll have a drink here before you head home, sound like a plan?" Quinn greets him, obviously in a bit of a hurry to get it all done.

"Sounds good to me Quinn, where’s Ru and Tazzie?" Eliot replies as he follows Quinn into the house and through to the kitchen where the table has already been prepared to be moved.

"Ru's taken Jane ice skating while we do this and then I’m going to spend some daddy-daughter time with her when they get back, I still can’t get used to the idea of being a dad though, I think it’s going to take a while!" Quinn replies as they each take an end and lift the large dining table and carry it through the house, out the front door and down the porch steps to where Diwali’s truck is waiting, Quinn getting up into the truck bed to guide the table as Eliot lifts the far end and slides it into the bed of the truck where they quickly secure it before going back for the chairs, once everything is tied down in the truck Quinn goes back inside for presents leaving Eliot to speak with Diwali.

"So Eliot, did you get everything cooked you wanted to?" Diwali asks, wanting to make sure that everything was going to plan.

"Yeah, ahead of time actually, means I was able to get Sarah to make some sugar cookies so she has something she can say she made all by herself, she’s very proud of them" Eliot replies, smiling softly at the memory of a cookie dough covered little girl grinning proudly.

"I’m glad, I’ll make sure to complement her on the cookies tomorrow, have you brought presents to put in the barn too?" Diwali goes on to ask, as he looks at the mountain of presents under the tree in his living room through the open double doors from the hallway.

"Yeah some, Mostly things we didn’t want Sarah to see while she’s about so I put them in the truck while she and Jay were asleep" Eliot tells him as his gaze goes far-off while he thinks of Sarah and Jayda curled up asleep together on the sofa.

Quinn comes staggering down the stairs under a huge pile of presents, his eyes just visible over the top of the pile making Eliot smirk and then laugh when he has to catch him when he trips over something, just managing to keep the pile of presents from toppling as he does so.

Once all the gifts (it takes two journeys to get them all down the stairs) are packed into the trucks the two men set off for the horse farm, when they arrive Eliot is surprised to find the barn in question lit up waiting for them, Eliot and Jayda had decorated the inside of the barn with long pine branches with ribbons, wreaths, a tree with all the decorations including fairy lights, and some homemade decorations the girls had made, as well as a stocking for each of the guests to be hung from the backs of their chairs, three of them have no name on them and Eliot had asked Jayda about that and she’d said it was a surprise, and he now knows that one of them was for John and he guesses that’s the one next to Abby’s seat but he has no idea who the other two are for, so it really will be a surprise because they’re sitting one next to him and one next to Jayda, who are seated opposite each other, he _hopes_ it’s someone he can tolerate.

"How come it’s all lit up ready for us?" Eliot asks Quinn as they walk towards the doors together.

"Bruce is still here, we told him to knock off early but he refused saying he wanted to help, so he should be around somewhere..." Quinn answers as he pulls the sliding door open and a blast of warmth hits both the men in the face as they see Bruce pick up a ginger tabby cat and tell it "there’s a good kitty, now, off to the big barn for dinner" the cat allowing a couple of strokes down it’s sleek back before jumping from his arms and belting out of the barn and into the snow in the direction of the big barn.

"Didn’t know you were into pussies Bruce!" Eliot remarks as he walks over to shake his hand, he’d been a hand on the farm that Eliot worked on as a teen and they’d always had a good rapport.

"Only the kinds that have whiskers and tails Eliot, how are you doing?" Bruce replies, not bothering about the crudity of the comment, Eliot had always known he was gay.

"I’m good, enjoyin' bein' with my little family, thank you for lookin' out for Ruby and the girls all this time, it means a lot to me that they’re looked after, especially since Quinn will be comin' to work with us some of the time, want them all to be safe and I know they are when they’re in your hands" Eliot replies, before turning to Quinn and saying "shall we get this done?"

The three of them make short work of getting the tables into the barn and set up, followed by all the chairs which then had a stocking hung over the back of it according to the seating plan Jayda had told him, then Quinn starts to haul presents from his truck to under the tree, taking smaller piles than he had at home meaning he needs to make more trips back and forth, but he’s surprised when Eliot starts hauling gifts from his truck, not realising that Eliot had brought some presents with him.

When they’re all done Eliot and Quinn help Bruce to close up the barn for the night, turning everything but the heat off and setting that to just warm, knowing it’ll build during the night, once it’s all locked up Quinn insists that Bruce call it a night and go home to Caleb, telling him that he’ll see them for lunch tomorrow and once he’s gotten into his truck Eliot and Quinn follow suit and drive down the driveway behind him, heading back to Diwali’s.

ELIOT/QUINN/RUBY/DIWALI/JANE

When Eliot and Quinn arrive back at Diwali’s house they see that Ruby has returned as her truck is in front of the house, so they go to the side of the house and let themselves in through the kitchen door, walking into a room that’s stiflingly hot where Diwali is still cooking ready for the next day, he looks up from where he’s chopping something and smiles at the two men before saying "there’s beer, eggnog or spirits, have a drink, but only _one_ for you Eliot, you have to drive home" before shooing them in the general direction of the front living room, which they can hear laughing and giggling coming from.

"Hey Ruby! Hey Tazzie! You excited for Christmas?" Eliot says as he walks into the room after getting himself a beer before walking through, Quinn right behind him with a tumbler of good scotch.

Jane leaps up onto her feet from where she’d been sat in her pj's on the floor with Ruby playing some kind of game and comes running to Eliot, throwing herself at his legs and hugging them with all her might before pushing away from them just as strongly so she can run to Quinn and try to climb up him until he bends and picks her up in his arms, all the while babbling about Christmas and Santa and reindeers and how much she loves everyone, it's _exhausting_ to listen to.

"Jane! Calm down! Eliot asked a question, answer him properly and then say hello to daddy!" Ruby admonishes her gently, obviously amused by Jane's babbling.

"Sorry uncle Eliot, yes I’m very excited about Christmas and seeing everyone tomorrow..." Jane says to Eliot before turning to face Quinn and continuing without a break "...hello daddy, I’m so glad you’re back!" Throwing her arms around his neck and snuggling into his chest in an I’m-sleepy-but-too-excited-to-sleep way, making all three adults melt into piles of gooey love.

Eliot answers her first with "I’m glad you’re excited Tazzie, Sarah says she’s missin' you already, but you’ll be back together by lunchtime tomorrow, ok?" Getting a big sunny smile and a nod in answer before Quinn starts to speak.

"Well I’m glad to be back sweetheart, and as soon as I’ve had one drink with Eliot I’ll sit and play with you, you can sit on my lap while we talk if you want, is that okay?" He tells her, telling her what he’s going to be doing but giving her the choice of what she wants to do.

"I wanna sit with you and talk to uncle Eliot, if you’re _sure_ it’s ok?" She asks tentatively, still getting used to the fact that every choice isn’t a trap like it had been with her previous father.

"I wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t ok, if I give you a choice it’s because you have that choice, you don’t need to worry, so let’s go sit down" Quinn tells her before taking her over to one of the armchairs and carefully sitting down and arranging Jane on his lap without spilling his drink, once both he and Eliot are comfortable he turns to Ruby and asks "is it ok to give her a tiny nip?" As he tilts his head towards his glass of scotch not wanting to give her some against Ruby’s wishes.

For a moment Ruby looks like she’s a deer caught in the headlights of an eighteen wheeler but then she blinks and she looks normal again, but she stutters when she answers "j.. just a li...little, s.. she probably won’t l.. like it"

Quinn frowns at her worriedly before putting his glass down and standing up again, handing Jane to Eliot he comes over to where Ruby is sat on the couch and says quietly "are you ok?"

She looks up into his eyes and twists her shaking hands together in her lap to try to hide their trembling before answering just as quietly "_He_ always forbade it, no alcohol _ever_, or they’d grow up to be useless al... _alcoholics_ like their m.. _mother_"

As soon as she’s halfway through Quinn’s jaw is clenched as tight as possible and his teeth are grinding he’s so angry, but at that last stuttered word he ever so gently pulls her up and into his arms, hugging her tightly while he whispers soothing words about how much he loves her and how she is so far from an alcoholic, how if the girls grow up to be like her then they’ll be strong, beautiful, women who will know how to deal with asshole men, but repeating over and over that’s she’s safe now, he’s dead and gone and he’ll never be able to hurt her again, when they eventually part they look over at Jane on Eliot’s lap where he’s obviously tried to keep her attention on him but has unfortunately failed as she's sat staring at them with huge wet eyes that look like she’s only seconds away from bursting into tears.

"Oh _sweetheart_ what’s wrong?" Quinn asks as he brings Ruby over to his chair with him, pulling her onto his lap when he sits down then leaning around her to stroke Jane's cheek gently.

"Did I make you mad and mommy upset? I’m sorry if I did something wrong!" She asks, subconsciously shrinking back against Eliot’s chest as though she expects a blow, something that all three adults notice and that breaks their hearts to see.

"No Sweetheart, you did nothing wrong, mommy was upset because of something I said because it reminded her of something your other daddy used to say and I got mad because he should never have said things like that to your mommy, because she deserves much better treatment than that" Quinn tells her, explaining without actually telling her anything.

"Better treatment like how _you_ treat her? She smiles more real now! we like her new smile better than her old one, and she doesn’t cry when she thinks no one can see her now either, you make mommy _much_ happier!" Jane tells him, and he’s blown away that the girls have noticed such a difference, with skills like that they might grow up to be as good a grifters as Sophie, and he’s so glad they don’t know that she still sneaks away from him to cry, but he hopes they’ll be able to break that habit soon, with luck.

"Well now that that’s all sorted, how about a Christmas song? Will you sing with me Tazzie? What about you two? I know Ruby can sing but I don’t know about you Quinn?" Eliot suggests, trying to completely change the atmosphere so that he doesn’t go home feeling guilty or angry.

"You sing first and we’ll see if we want to join in, if we know the words, fair enough?" Quinn bargains, getting a silent nod from Eliot in reply before he quickly whispers in Jane’s ear which makes a huge smile dawn across her face as she nods vigorously.

Moments later Eliot clears his throat and then starts to sing, a slow, quiet, haunting rendition of Silent Night, and moments later once she has the tempo Jane joins in, maybe not as technically precise but still beautiful, before long Ruby joins in and Quinn finds that she really does have a great voice, and in the end even Quinn joins in, even though he’s not anywhere near in the league of the other three.

After Silent Night Eliot carries on singing slow, haunting Christmas songs for a while until his beer is empty and he feels the mood has changed between this small family he’s surrounded by, Jane is almost asleep in his arms and Quinn is staring into Ruby’s eyes adoringly while she stares back with her heart in her eyes, after a few moments he says quietly "I gotta get goin', Jay is waitin' on me and the party food, I’ll see you both tomorrow, now who wants the munchkin?" At his words Ruby gets up from on Quinn’s lap and he reaches out to take Jane, but she doesn’t seem to want to let go of Eliot’s shirt, so while Quinn holds her Eliot slowly peels her fingers from his shirt, as soon as he’s free her fingers wrap into Quinn’s shirt with a death grip making them both quirk a smile at the other over her head while Ruby very quietly says "I’ll help you with the food"

Eliot and Ruby head into the kitchen and Diwali says "the party food is all there in that pair of bags, it’s all in containers so it’ll survive the journey, have fun and enjoy your party Eliot, I’ll see you all tomorrow, say hi to everyone for me!" Before disappearing out of the room, Eliot picks up one bag and is just reaching for the other when Ruby says "if you wait two seconds I’ll put some shoes on and help you with these bags...." which Eliot interrupts her with "don’t you dare! I can manage on my own, you just close the door behind me and I’ll be fine, you are not goin' out in this weather when you don’t need to" laying down the law and making sure she’ll stay inside out of the freezing cold temperatures.

"Ok at least let me help you lift it until you have everything sorted then I’ll close the door, ok?" She agrees, once he has everything ready he kisses her on the cheek and says "have a good Christmas Ruby" before going to the door and waiting for her to open it so he can leave, making sure she closes the door behind him properly before heading for his truck and then home.


	12. Parties Involved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a party at Eliot and Jayda’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I’ve made y'all wait FOUR MONTHS for this new chapter, I had really bad writers block and didn’t want to upload any new chapters until I got going again and then COVID-19 happened and I was caught up in real life for a couple of months, so I’m sorry for keeping you all waiting.
> 
> I’m past my block now and have become re-inspired by the announcement of the leverage new season/reboot, I couldn’t be happier than to have my long haired love back playing my beloved Eliot again so here’s to our new series!
> 
> I’ll try and be better about posting new chapters but I can’t promise anything, just to say, since I’m at risk of complications from COVID-19 if the worst should happen my husband will post all that I have written, both of this story so far and the four other stories in the series I have so far (two finished and two wip) I hope this won’t become necessary but just so you all know I’ve taken those steps even though I am self isolating as much as possible (weekly blood tests are not optional so I have to go out for them).
> 
> I hope you all stay safe and look after each other and yourselves properly, keep protected and wash your hands whenever there’s the slightest risk.
> 
> Now after that service announcement ..... enjoy darlin's!

JAYDA/ELIOT/SARAH/THEIR FRIENDS

When Eliot arrives back at the lake house there are two new vehicles parked outside, one he knows belongs to Abby but the other is a British racing green suv which he doesn’t recognise, he walks up the steps hoping that nothing is wrong but deciding not to allow his paranoia free reign because he doesn’t want to ruin the party Jayda has arranged.

He slowly opens the door to the sound of Sarah giggling and the sight of Eric holding her by the ankles and holding them high above his head while a Pajama clad Sarah laughs and squirms in his grip while Jayda and Abby watch on with smiles on their faces from the kitchen, he brings the bags of party snacks to them in the kitchen as Eric starts to shake Sarah from side to side making her laugh and scream even louder.

"Is it safe to let him do that to her?" He asks Jayda quietly as he puts the bags down and starts to unpack them, worried about Sarah’s safety in such a position.

"So long as he doesn’t lose his grip on her she’ll be fine, and can’t you tell how much she’s enjoyin' it?" Jayda replies as she slides her arms around him and turns his face for a kiss as they watch their daughter together.

"Yeah, I can tell, but bein' upside down and shook and swung isn’t good for her digestion and she hasn’t eaten yet so maybe it’s time for her to be the right way up again?" Eliot suggests, getting an eye-roll from Jayda but a nod of agreement as well.

"Hey Bug! Wanna see what goodies grandfather made for the party?" He shouts over to her where she squeals "_Yes_! Put me down please Eric!" Making Eric head to the couch where he can lay her down gently without there being any chance of her being hurt, from there she rushes over to Eliot and wraps her arms around his legs while jumping up to try and see what’s still in the bags.

_"Hey! _Hey Bug, calm down! You’ll see in a second... stop jumpin' up before someone gets hurt ok babyBug?" Eliot says, resting his hand on her head to stop her jumping while his other hand just keeps pulling more and more boxes out of the bag as if it is bottomless.

Eventually Eliot reaches the bottom of the first bag and looks around himself to find every available bit of counter space taken up by stacked boxes of food and he just looks over the top of them at Jayda who smirks in reply before telling him "serving platters and large plates are in that cupboard, lay things out then start putting platters on the coffee tables, it’ll all fit, promise!" And then opening the nearest box and asking for a plate for the hot wings she’s found.

Ten minutes later everything is laid out except the things that are heating and keeping warm in the oven, Jayda, Eliot, Sarah and Abby are sat on one of the couches while Eric sits in a nearby chair telling Abby, and the others since they’re listening, about his childhood in New York, just then John comes down the stairs after having a shower and getting changed ready for their little party, he’s just sat on the arm of the sofa next to Abby when the door opens and there is suddenly a Parker sat on Eliot’s lap and Hardison is leaning over the back of the couch draping himself around Eliot’s shoulders as they both babble 'hellos' and 'merry Christmas' and 'hi, nice to meet you' and whatever else they want to say all at once while Eliot sits there with a slightly shell shocked, long suffering look on his face until Jayda saves him.

"Hey guys! The snuggle armchair is free, why don’t you claim it while you can?" Sending an apologetic look to John as she knows he’d wanted to try to get Abby to sit on it with him at some point, but she had to rescue Eliot from being overwhelmed by his crazy business partners, the suggestion has the desired effect and both of them disengage from Eliot’s person and pretty much dance across to the snuggle armchair where they quickly curl around each other before being formally introduced to Abby, Jayda and Eliot’s old friend from their childhoods here in Oklahoma.

Once all the introductions have been made Eliot goes to get everyone drinks, drinks that had been stocked up by John when he went into town earlier in the day, getting everything on a long list supplied by Jayda before he left, once everyone has a drink, even Sarah having a glass of very watered wine, the suggestions on what to do start, everyone talking over each other, 

"cards against humanity!" 

"Munchkin!" 

"Play the party games on the wii!" 

"Exploding kittens!" 

"wha..! NO Parker you can’t make kittens explode! There’s a small child here!" 

"Don’t be stupid Eliot it’s a game!" 

"Well how was I meant to know..." until Jayda has had enough and says "guys! _Guys_! How about we just chat until some more people get here? Once there’s more of us who’ll understand the jokes we’ll play cards against, alright?" She offers, Eliot asking Eric a question about the story he’d been telling before Parker and Hardison arrived, interrupting him.

By the time another half an hour has passed Bruce and Caleb have arrived and so has the deputy sheriff Bryce Collins, although he’s only staying for a little before going to see Diwali and have a few games of cards together, everyone is talking in little groups and Sarah and Wahya are being completely spoilt for attention, everyone saying how pretty and smart she is and how well behaved and handsome he is, although Sarah's flitting around the room is slowing down and both Jayda and Eliot are ready to swoop in and catch her when she finally passes out from tiredness, knowing she won’t admit she needs to go to bed because she’s as stubborn as both of them and she doesn’t want to miss the party.

The drinks are flowing and the couple have noticed that Caleb isn’t drinking, but he’s the only one and Eliot hopes neither Parker nor Hardison intends to drive to Diwali’s drunk, he’d rather have them stay here if it is required than have them take that risk, he also wonders what Abby is planning to do but he figures if she stays on a couch John will be happy and if she’s planning to stay upstairs with him and Jayda then he might be getting a slightly weird Christmas present, not that he’d be complaining, so he stops worrying about it and continues to have a good time.

At ten Bryce leaves, heading off to his card game, and everyone seems to relax a little more, which Eliot thinks is rather unfair on the poor guy, after all he covered for Eliot when he could have gone to prison for murder, pinning his crime on the woman who tried to kill him during the same altercation, which had obviously been some sort of set up, as far as Eliot and Jayda are concerned Bryce is always welcome with their family, because they wouldn’t have one if it wasn’t for him.

At this point in the night the nine adults and one tired little girl are all sat around on the couches, chairs and the floor, Eliot in the corner of one of the sofas with Jayda curled up under his arm and Sarah on his lap with her face snuggled into his neck/chest area gripping tightly onto his shirt with one hand and the other has her thumb in her mouth, something Eliot knows he should put a stop to but it’s just too cute for him to stop her right now especially since she seems to be asleep finally.

John and Abby are on another sofa almost snuggled together with Eric taking up the free end, Bruce and Caleb are sat on the floor leaning against another sofa and each other and Parker and Hardison haven’t moved from the snuggle chair, everyone is listening to the story of how Caleb proposed to Bruce six years earlier, even though they’ve been together fourteen years, Bruce Making sure to make the point that Caleb should have asked him _much_ earlier, everyone laughs with them as the story ends and Parker pipes up "can we call Ruby and Quinn?"

"Sure, you wanna call or FaceTime them?" Jayda asks, picking up her iPad off the small end table next to her where she’d left it for just this situation.

"FaceTime is better!" Parker decides, so Jayda opens the right app and calls Ruby’s iPad, the call being answered after just a couple of rings showing the faces of Ruby and Quinn where they’re sat up cuddling in bed.

"Hi guys! Everyone here wanted to call and say hi, but they’re bein' _lazy_ so rather than all gather round to say hi you’re gonna get passed around everyone a couple at a time, I’m not sure if Sarah is still awake..." Jayda starts the call with a chirpy and bright tone that shows how happy she’s feeling before Sarah quietly and sleepily interrupts her.

"'M awake... hey mommy and daddy! Thank you for lettin' me stay here for the party! It’s been a _lot_ of fun! I love you both and Jane and grandfather too!" Sarah says before waving at the screen and then cuddling back into Eliot’s chest while he says just "hi guys! Merry Christmas, see you tomorrow and thank you for lettin' us have Bug with us!" Before Jayda hands the pad to Abby, John and Eric.

While the pad circles the room Jayda whispers to Eliot "I think it’s nearly time for bed for our little Bug, do you wanna take her up or should I?" Stroking Sarah’s hair behind her ear as she looks at her lovingly, Eliot feeling the same way about both of them, but he knows everyone is getting ready to leave so he answers "wait just a little bit longer, ok?" Getting a nod in return as the iPad, still connected to Ruby and Quinn is handed back to Jayda.

"Hey guys! So you’ve said hi to everyone and we’ll all see you tomorrow at various times before lunch as we arrive, have a great night you two and Merry Christmas!!!" Jayda says to the couple at the other end of the line, Eliot joining in for the last two words before Ruby waves and then cuts off the call as they both call out "bye!"

Jayda puts the iPad back where she got it from and is surprised when Bruce and Caleb both get to their feet, coming over they each kiss her cheek and then shake Eliot’s hand, thanking them for the invite and such a nice evening before Caleb says to the room "ok all those who need a lift it’s time to go! Parker, Hardison, Eric you have two minutes to sort yourselves out!" Causing a flurry of activities around them, people hugging and kissing both Jayda and Eliot and thanking them for a great party before putting on boots and coats and gloves and heading out in a group to Caleb's truck.

Before leaving Hardison comes to Eliot and says "after Christmas we need to talk about that job we just did, some other things came to light through the hacking and we think it needs some leverage putting on it, but after Christmas ok?" Making Eliot sigh as he knew _something_ would happen with them doing a job without him, but for now he knows they’re safe so he decides to ignore it until the day after Christmas.

"No problem, are you both safe? I mean I know you are bein' here but have you been compromised?" He asks just to make sure everything is ok.

"Yeah man we’re safe, they never knew I was there, there’s just some things that need doing something about, ya know? Anyway gotta run or the guys'll leave me behind!" Alec answers before holding out his hand for their traditional fist bump before heading out of the door and leaving the room a lot emptier.

Once the group have left there’s only Jayda, Eliot, John and Abby left, with of course Sarah, and Jayda, Abby and John all get up and start clearing away platters and plates, putting left overs in the fridge and stacking the dishwasher, Eliot would join them but he has Sarah asleep in his arms and he knows if he tries to put her down she’ll wake up and be really crabby so he just holds her and talks to the others as they clean.

When all the cleaning up is done Abby asks ever so casually "is it ok for me to crash here? I brought my things just in case since I knew i’d be drinkin'... but only if it’s ok with you guys... I’ll just grab a couch..." her voice trailing off when no one answers until Jayda grins and says "Sure! You can sleep down here with John or upstairs with me and Eliot, whatever you prefer!" Getting a wide-eyed look from Abby while she continues to grin knowing full well the implications of that offer that are running through Abby’s head.

"Just a sofa would be fine!" She squeaks in the end before adding "I’ll just go get my bag from my truck!" And pulling on her boots and heading outside.

The moment the door has closed Jayda starts talking to John "ok Thunderbird, this is your chance, have a chat and convince her to cuddle up with you, the fire is lit and it’ll be romantic, there’s a bottle of wine open, help yourselves to whatever you like, just remember that Sarah will be down early in the mornin' so make sure you both have some clothin' on before goin' to sleep, ok?" John just having time to nod before Abby returns, dropping her bag by the door.

When she realises everyone is looking at her she says "what?" Self-consciously but Jayda just smiles and says "we’re off to bed, have some more wine and catch up, it’s been a couple of years since you saw each other, make the most of it..." then pats Eliot on the shoulder and gestures for him to follow her upstairs while Abby and John settle down, Eliot carefully getting to his feet and carrying Sarah up the stairs turning off most of the lights as he goes.


	13. Silent Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda and Eliot spend a little quiet time together in the bath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.... I felt bad when I realised how short the last chapter was and since i’d made you all wait so long I decided to add this chapter too, enjoy darlin's!

JAYDA/ELIOT

Once they’re in their room with the door shut Eliot puts his pajama clad load into his side of the bed and turns to Jayda, taking her in his arms and kissing her, something he’s been wanting to do for hours but didn’t want to in front of everyone else, because of his body’s reaction to her kisses, but now he revels in her as his kiss explores all of her mouth while his hands explore her body, crowding her up against the wall and pressing his body against hers to let her feel the effect she’s having on his body.

She moans into their kiss as she pulls his shirt up his back, pulling it off over his head rather than undoing the buttons, her hands instantly moving to gently stroke his back as they come together in a new kiss, while Jayda’s hands are busy holding him tight against her he wants to feel her skin against him so he starts to unbutton the green silk blouse she’s wearing, having to pull back from her body a little to get at the tiny buttons, but his deft, calloused, nimble fingers open the small silk covered buttons so easily it’s like magic, they seem to just fall open at his touch until he’s pushing the blouse off her shoulders and down her arms, allowing it to flutter to the floor as he brings his hands between them to release her front fastening bra, peeling it back from her breasts and sliding it down her arms to follow the blouse as he leans over and takes her nipple into his mouth, his hands coming to hold her waist once the bra is gone and pull her towards him as he nibbles her nipple lightly before letting go and pulling her tight against his chest while kissing her passionately.

When they finally break from their kiss, both of them panting harshly, Jayda whispers "El we can’t... not with Sarah here, I want you but..." getting cut off by another kiss.

When the kiss ends Eliot starts talking right away "we’ll go into the bathroom, it’d be nice to have a relaxin' bath together before bed and we can do what we like while we’re in there, what do you think?" He asks her, coming up with a valid scenario that would work very well for them.

"Well you seem to have a plan, let’s go run the bath, and then I have somethin' for you" she agrees peaking his interest with the second half of her comment.

"What is it? Is it a present? You know it’s not Christmas until you wake up in the mornin' _right_?" He teases, getting an unimpressed look from her as she pushes his half-naked body towards the bathroom, then turns away to check on Sarah, Eliot going into the bathroom and starting the bath running, knowing that even with the awesome water pressure it’s going to take ages for the bath to fill.

Meanwhile Jayda quickly goes to her dresser and pulls out a box before following him into the bathroom and locking the door, then moving around the room getting things ready and ending by throwing a bath bomb into the water, the room quickly filling with the scent of violets.

"Mmm that smells nice..." Eliot says as he cuddles against her from behind, his arms going around her waist and hugging her tightly against himself.

"I find the smell of violets relaxin'" she replies as she leans back against him, snuggling back into the warmth of his chest, as she does his hands slowly trail down to her waistband and undo her jeans, slowly pushing them down her thighs until he can reach no further before turning her around and kissing her as he holds her tight against himself, as he kisses her her hands come to the front of his jeans and tickle his stomach as she opens them, breaking their kiss so that she can push them and his boxer briefs down all the way to the floor allowing him to step out of them so she can throw them towards the laundry basket before looking up at him and his naked body, licking her lips seductively before leaning forward and while still holding eye contact slowly licking at the slit on the end of his dick, making him close his eyes and shudder in reaction to both the sensation and the visual stimuli before he threads his hands into her hair and gently pulls her up to standing again, something that’s not so easy for her to do with her jeans halfway down her thighs.

"Jay... love you... _want_ you..." he murmurs against her lips before kissing her then picking her up bridal style and carrying her over to the countertop where he usually sits her.

"What do you have in mind?" Jayda asks as he pulls her jeans off her lower legs leaving her in nothing but her boyshorts.

"Thought i’d finish undressin' you and then lay on the floor and let you sit on me, let me give you some pleasure while the tub fills" he tells her, stroking down the sides of her waist and hips with his thumbs while he talks before adding "now lift your hips so I can get rid of these shorts..." an order that she’s more than happy to comply with.

Once her shorts are gone and she’s completely naked Eliot slides her back off the counter and pulls her to the clear part of the floor, he quickly opens out a towel and lays it flat on the floor before laying down on it and grinning up at her "wanna join me?" He asks holding his hand up to her.

"Just two seconds" she answers and turns away before coming back with the small wrapped package in her hands, she slowly goes to her knees next to his hip and then swings one over him so that she’s straddling his hips, allowing him to feel her wet centre up against him, then she smiles sweetly and hands him the gift saying "me and Ruby had a tradition, once it’s near or just past midnight we would exchange one gift that had meanin' to hold us over until mornin', since I went to England I haven’t had someone to keep up this tradition with but now you’re here I thought you _might_ like to resurrect it with me? So this is for you" once she’s finished speaking she lays the gift on his chest and waits.

Eliot looks up at her with adoration in his eyes as he smiles at her and picks up the gift, sitting up and kissing her he whispers "thank y' darlin'" in a quiet, rumbling, almost-purr making her smile happily, his nimble fingers quickly unwrapping the small box and discarding the paper next to them before opening the box, inside is a beautiful tooled leather wristband made of midnight blue leather so dark it just looks like iridescent black, because Jayda knows Eliot favours the colour blue but she knows it needs to be dark, the tooling shows a wolf, his spirit animal, and when he checks it over he finds a hidden garrotte and hidden blade concealed within the leather of the bracelet.

"Darlin'!... this... this is beautiful! I... I don’t know what to say... I love it! It’ll be _very_ handy for work, I doubt I’ll ever not wear it!" He says, smiling and hugging her tightly as he talks.

"The blade has a hidden button to make it stick out here to allow you to cut ropes or zip ties if you ever need to or you can remove it from the leather completely through here so it has multiple uses and I’m sure I don’t need to explain how to use a garrotte wire to you, do you _really_ like it? I chose blue and a wolf because I know they’re your favourites, I hope it comes in useful to you!" She explains pointing out various attributes of the bracelet so he knows everything it can do, Eliot makes a mental note to get Hardison to add a GPS tracker to it and a small comms microphone and emergency beacon so that if they need to find him he can keep repeating his information for them to come for him even if he can’t hear them.

Eliot puts the gift to the side and wraps his arm tightly around Jayda while the other comes up to cup her face before bringing her in for a passion filled kiss, showing her just how happy her gift has made him, making her smile into their kiss in return at knowing he’s happy.

"When we go to bed I have a gift for you too... _damn_ it! I forgot about the extra gifts that still need takin' downstairs!" He explains as his face darkens in self contempt.

"That’s ok, we can worry about that after the bath, by then hopefully John and Abby will be finished with whatever they’re up to!" Jayda points out, Eliot hoping they don’t go all night or he’ll have to come up with an excuse to tell Sarah for why her presents are upstairs instead of under the tree.

"Good point, now, I wanna give you some pleasure, all you gotta decide is how you want it and let me know..." he tells her as he reaches out and cups her breasts, slowly massaging them and making her moan.

"I know _exactly_ what I want from you Mr! Now you just lay there and close your eyes, I’m gonna get where I wanna be and then you can begin!" She tells him, leaning forward and running her fingertips over his eyelids to get him to close his eyes the way she asked, once he’s closed themshe rises up and gets to her feet moving up his body until she’s stood at his head then gracefully turns and returns to her knees, kneeling over his face and allowing her labia to just brush over his lips, he moans at the touch and his hands come up to her hips to hold her still, even as his eyes remain closed, and he gently pulls her closer, allowing his lips to move over her wet folds, kissing, sucking and licking as she settles into the right position.

"Oh! Yes!... give it to me! Want you to get me off! But don’t you _dare_ open your eyes!" She gasps out, already breathless from the anticipation and gentle licks he’s been showering her with, once she’s in a comfortable position in the right place she slowly leans forwards from the waist, being careful to not touch his body, so he’s highly shocked when he feels her lick up the length of his cock, starting at the head and then slurping all the way down to his balls that she takes hold of and gently pull away from his body, making him groan in reaction to the sensation as she takes his head into her mouth and starts to suckle, quickly getting the hang of the rhythm until she’s swiftly bobbing along his length while he tongue fucks her roughly, rubbing his stubble against her inner labia making her squirm, but still he doesn’t open his eyes, doing everything by touch alone, just like she demanded.

As he licks at her he feels her getting wetter against his tongue, and he knows that means she’s close, this conclusion is backed by the moan she lets out around his cock which her mouth is most of the way down, making it hard to concentrate on what he’s doing to her, but he makes the effort, wanting to give her a gift of pleasure to help her relax before their bath and going to bed, so he concentrates on her clit, licking and nibbling at it as her moans get louder and more prolonged and she sucks him both harder and deeper until he can feel he’s almost into her throat, making him groan against her sex before humming as he sucks on her clit just as hard as she’s sucking him down.

As he changes the pitch of his humming she suddenly pulls off him and lets out a growl that he knows wants to be a howl as she cums, flooding his face with her juices, almost making him drown when it fills both his mouth and nose at the same time, but all he can think is 'what a way to go!' before she grabs the root of his cock and brings her mouth down over it until her nose is pressed against his tight balls and her throat is working the head exquisitely while her tongue works his length... then suddenly she hums and that’s it, he loses control and cums, pumping his hot seed down her throat as his balls try to tighten even more while they contract and his length jerks inside her throat, once he’s finished cumming she pulls up, back off his still-hard length and coughs just once to clear her throat before saying in a sexy, raspy, gravelly voice that’s been damaged by her activities "I hope your eyes are still closed!" Then swinging her leg back over his head so she’s kneeling beside his head, able to see how his face is completely covered in her juices.

"Here, use the corner of this towel to wipe your eyes clear before you open them" Jayda says while putting the towel into his hand and waiting while he clears his eyes, once he has he lays there still for a few moments.

"So is it ok to open my eyes now?" He asks cheekily but she just smiles a small smile of victory.

"You can open them now, and then we’ll get in the bath" she 'suggests' knowing now that he’ll do anything at all that she asks of him, without question, no matter _how_ strange.

Eliot slowly opens his eyes, gazing up at her and taking in how she looks, her hair disheveled, pupils blown and lips swollen and red, it being _obvious_ what she’s just been up to and Eliot can’t help being turned on all over again by the knowledge, he just wishes he could have seen her while she did it!

When he finally tears his eyes away he slowly sits up then works his way to standing, finding that his legs are rather unsteady underneath him, something that she doesn’t fail to notice, making her quirk a private smile at being able to cause that reaction.

He leans over and turns off the taps, the bath isn’t full but it’s full enough for them to have a comfortable soak together, he turns back from the taps and holds out his hand to her "here you go princess, your bath awaits..." he tells her, making her roll her eyes at him as she takes his hand and slowly gets into the tub and sits down, sighing in pleasure at the heat of the water.

Eliot climbs in after her and comes to settle next to her, Jayda wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him as soon as he sits down, both of them quickly becoming heavily involved in their kiss until Eliot pulls Jayda onto his lap, then she moves her legs so that she can straddle him and press her body up against his as they kiss, the kissing soon being accompanied by Jayda grinding against him as she rubs her clit along his still hard cock, quickly bringing herself to the point of orgasm.

As she teeters on the edge, panting into their kiss and shaking like a leaf, he reaches down and ignoring her clit ring gently rubs her clit in one smooth, firm, circle and her dam breaks, she tips her head back and cries out as he holds her tight, her channel closing down on nothing but water, making her whimper for the absence of her Mate inside her, bringing her to tears because he’s not there inside her when she needs him to be.

"Hey, it’s ok, what do you need?" He whispers against her temple as he holds her close, her tears falling against his shoulder like warm rain.

"Need you, please... please make love to me, you’re all I _ever_ need..." she whispers with a hiccup, her hands holding tight to the back of his shoulders trying to pull him even closer to her as she speaks.

Rather than answering Eliot takes hold of her hips and lifts her in the water and pulls her ass forwards while tipping his hips and tensing his abs, making his cock stand away from his abs so that he’s able to sit her on it and slowly slide her down his length until he’s nestled deep inside her, Jayda kissing all over his face as she gasps out "Yes... love you... need you... all I ever want... love you... _please_, move..." between each kiss.

He instantly gives her what she wants, slowly taking hold of her hips again and lifting her along his length before letting her own weight drop her down onto him again, and she moans as he fills her, bringing her legs around his waist and using them for leverage to move over his length, his hands on her ass helping her to lift and slide along him while his hips move in counterpoint bringing them both pleasure.

As they move against each other they kiss passionately, bringing extra heat to their lovemaking, interspersed with the occasional nip on each other’s lips or small separation to gasp in some breaths when lack of air forces them to, their kisses overlaid with the sounds of moans and their gasps with the sound of heavy panting occasionally interspersed with words of love and passion.

The position they’re in means that Jayda’s clit is constantly being rubbed by Eliot’s length as they move, quickly bringing her to orgasm, and as she tightens down on him he breaks their kiss to whisper "I love you" into her ear making the pleasure she’s feeling all the more intense, as she relaxes again they continue to move against each other, Jayda close to orgasm again already and Eliot not far behind her

"Love you too" she whispers back to him between two kisses, putting all the love and devotion she can into the words as her movements speed up, thrusting and grinding harder against him, pushing them both closer to their climaxes with every move.

"Want you to cum, Alpha, fill me _please_..." Jayda begs as she grinds down hard, feeling through the Bond that he’s close and knowing he just needs the encouragement to let go and let it happen, at her words he moans and pulls her in for a dirty, passionate kiss that leaves them both feeling open and exposed, but safe and protected by the other’s arms.

After just a few movements more Jayda flings her head back and moans loudly as she cums again, her walls tightening on and massaging Eliot’s length as he moves, drawing him over the edge, making him bite Jayda’s Mating scar to stop himself howling as he cums, pulling her down onto him tightly while filling her, his quick jerks as he cums making her moan again before bringing her head up again and kissing the side of his head and holding him close against herself.

They continue to kiss after they’ve both cum but now it’s slow and loving, still passionate but calmer and it takes some time before they part and Eliot asks "are you ok?"

"Yes, I’m good, are you alright? We should think about gettin' to bed" She replies, knowing it’s late and they’re going to have an early morning with Sarah.

"I’m brilliant, let’s get out of the bath and then I’ll put my sweats on to take those presents down before joinin' you in bed and givin' you your gift" he answers, standing up and reaching a hand down for Jayda to help her to her feet before they both climb out of the bath and grab towels, and although he’s moving better after being in the hot water she can’t help but notice that Eliot is still moving slower and more stiffly than normal, but she decides not to comment, it’s not like it’s a danger with the quietness of their lives here.

Once they’re both dry and Jayda has her shorts back on and Eliot has his sweats on they both go to the nursery and pull out the gifts hidden in there, there’s that many it’s going to take three trips, one of which is going to need hiding in the back of the truck to take to the barn tomorrow, but when she brings it up Eliot insists that he’ll do it all and that she should go get into bed and warm his part up for him since Sarah’s on his side, they both stand at the top of the stairs listening to see if there’s any noises coming from the living room, but all is silent, so Jayda kisses Eliot’s cheek and goes to climb into the bed.

Once down the stairs and around the wall Eliot can see that Abby is on the same sofa as John, cuddled up the same way Jayda and himself had been only yesterday after John arrived and Eliot wishes them all the luck in the world as he sneaks past and piles the stack of presents under the tree, the next set go under the tree as well and the final set he takes out to the truck, hiding them in the truck bed before letting himself back into the house where he’s not really shocked to have John ask "everythin' ok?"

"_Yeah_ just had some gifts I needed to bring down and some to go in the truck, all done now and we’re locked back up, go back to sleep man, I’ll see you in the mornin'" Eliot answers, getting a hand wave above the top of the couch as he heads back to the staircase.

Once back upstairs Eliot takes off his sweats and dons some boxer briefs for decencies sake and then gets a small package out of his chest of drawers before sliding into bed next to Jayda.

"This is for you, Merry Christmas, Mate" Eliot says as he hands the small package to Jayda, who looks into his eyes questioningly.

"What is it?" She asks, making Eliot start to snicker at the absurdity of her asking when all she needs to do is unwrap it and she’d see.

"Open it and find out!" He tells her, watching her face avidly as she slowly removes the paper before opening a small black box to reveal a beautiful necklace with a 5 carat blue diamond and matching earrings that are 1 1/2 carats each, all shaped to teardrop cuts and set in platinum, when Jayda looks deep into the necklace pendant she’s _sure_ she can see something similar to the  _Tsalagi_ symbol for Soul.

"Eliot! _This_... this is too much! It must be worth a _fortune_! I... I can’t take this!" Jayda finally says after staring at it for several minutes.

"Do you like it? Because I _can’t_ take it back, and while _yes_ it cost a lot of money it’s nothin' compared to what I can afford, I want you to have this and wear it and look beautiful, well you _always_ look beautiful, but still, _please_ accept it" Eliot replies, wanting her to know it was created especially for her and he wants her to enjoy it.

"Then yes I’ll accept it, it’s beautiful, thank you, when I look deep into the stone I could _swear_ I see somethin'..." she says staring into the stone again.

"That’s because I had the settin' made with the Cherokee symbol for '_soulmate_' on it so it would show through the stone when you look deep, I had your father do a ritual on it to link the giver and receiver, in case I ever need to find you again, once you put it on we’ll be linked in yet another way" Eliot explains while putting his arm around her and gently pulling her against his chest.

"I’ll wear them to lunch, I have _just_ the dress to go with them, thank you Alpha" she says, leaning up to give him a sweet, chaste kiss.

"We should get some sleep, god knows how early Bug is goin' to wake us!" He says when they separate, Jayda putting the box on her bedside table before wriggling her way down the bed as Eliot does the same until they are both comfortable, then Eliot wraps her in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Goodnight baby, I love you, Merry Christmas" Jayda mumbles as she starts to drift into sleep, snuggling in against him more as she does.

"Goodnight Princess, I love you too, Merry Christmas" Eliot replies, feeling the love of his Pack all around him, Jayda on one side and Sarah on the other, making him feel loved and for once, safe.


	14. Peaceful Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby and John & Ruby and Quinn, all spend the evening settling down together and being close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! So I’ve been writing full steam ahead on both this and a later story, not to mention having an idea for a short story to follow this one before going on to the next big adventure, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more updates from me and you’ll hit that subscribe button so you never miss one!
> 
> I am going to have to take some time off in October due to getting married but hopefully I’ll have plenty ready for y’all by then, in the meantime enjoy this story and the others still to come.
> 
> I dedicate this to The Tetrarch who we lost recently to COVID-19, her loss will be felt by many, me included, I loved her 'redemption of Eliot Spencer' series and her 'wapanjara chronicles' which will remain always unfinished, if you haven’t read her stories go and read them!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ABBY/JOHN

As soon as Jayda and Eliot have disappeared upstairs and they’ve heard their door close Abby turns to John and says "I’m just goin' to go up to the bathroom and get into my pj's and brush my teeth, I’ll only be five minutes".

John smiles at her and answers "Yeah that’s fine I’ll need to do the same after you, lucky I brought some sweatpants or i’d be havin' to flash my boxers at you as I don’t have any pj's, go on up, would you like a glass of wine when you come back down?" As he looks at her a little shyly.

Abby smiles at his confession and answers "if you want to sleep in or even just hang out in just your boxers that’s _fine_ with me, not like I haven’t seen you in tiny swimmin' trunks before, but yeah some wine and a nice chat would be lovely, thank you, I’ll just go up now" smiling shyly back at him as she picks up her little bat shaped rucksack and trots up the stairs to the small bathroom.

When she comes back down she finds that the largest couch is made up as a bed and there is a second set of sheets laid out on another couch, but that isn’t what grabs her attention, what does is the two large floor cushions placed in front of the fire and the two bottles of wine and two glasses set to one side of the hearth, making it obvious where John intends for them to have their catch up.

John quickly grins at her and runs up the stairs, changing into his sweatpants and brushing his teeth but deciding to go back down shirtless, hoping that if Abby feels the spark of attraction between them too this might encourage her to show it a little and do _something_ to let him know she’s interested.

When he comes back down the stairs he finds all the lights off and Abby sat on one of the two cushions he’d put in front of the fire, so he heads to the free one and sits slowly, smiling at her as she grins at him, he quickly reaches over and pours two glasses of wine before holding one out to her, at which point she speaks.

"Thank you, ain’t you gonna be cold without a shirt on? Or are you tryin' to tell me _somethin_'?" She asks, her second question making him blush hotly but he hopes the red firelight hides the most of it.

"Jayda has the heatin' turned up, it gets _really_ hot at night, I won’t need a shirt, and well... _maybe_?" He answers, he’s not going to lie about his attraction to her, after all if he denies it why would she show any interest in him?

"_Maybe_? That sounds more like a _yes_ to me, so why don’t you tell me what you’re hintin' at and we’ll see where we go from there? We’ve always been able to talk John, no matter what and i’d like it to stay that way, above all else we’re good friends and that will _never_ change" Abby tells him, his heart clenching painfully when she says being friends will never change, but he decides he has to face it now, he’s moving back and he’ll be seeing a lot of her, it’s now or never.

"Ah... erm... well... thing is, I’ve _always_ liked you... y'know _liked_ liked you... and well I was hopin', that maybe you’d consider... hah... would you like to go on a date with me?" John stutters out his question after a few false starts, Abby looking at him kindly with a small smile while he struggles through it.

"That must have taken a lot of guts, I’m _very_ proud of you, I have always _liked_ you too but there are _two_ reasons I can’t go on a date with you, one, I’m not lookin' for a fling or a long distance relationship, this is my home and where my business is, I don’t ever want to have to leave here and you livin' elsewhere means we can’t have a normal long-term relationship, two, I’ve not long split up with someone and I was _badly_ hurt, I’m not ready for a new relationship _yet_ and as I said I don’t want a fling or a one night stand, i’d be willin' to start a slow-build long term relationship but we’d have to go at my speed which would be _very_ slow and I don’t think that would be fair on you, but to be honest I might _never_ want a relationship that wasn’t taken really slow, I need to be sure about the person I give my heart to, I can’t bare to be hurt so badly again, so because of those two reasons I’m _really_ sorry but I’ve got to turn you down, just please remember, I _do_ like you like that, this is just bad timin'" she tells him explaining why she feels she has no choice but to turn him down even though she feels the same way about him.

"Well I have some news that might change your mind Stormcloud... I’m movin' back here, I’ve accepted an offer from Diwali to become his apprentice, I’m also goin' to train as an advanced paramedic, the mix of the two fields seems to work well but I’m a bit too old to train as a doctor so paramedic makes more sense, so _yeah_, no need for a long distance relationship and I never wanted just a fling with you, you have always been worth _more_ than that to me, as far as your second reason goes, well I’m happy to go as fast or as slow as you want, I’ve waited nearly twenty years for this chance, I can wait until you’re ready and just go at the speed you want to, if you want to give it a try, _do_ you?" John tells her hoping that she’ll take his words as a good thing and they can maybe start their slow way toward being together.

"You’re _sure_ this is what you want?" She asks before adding "if I’m goin' to have a new relationship I’m lookin' for a long-term, committed relationship, only do this if that’s what you want too, _please_ don’t use me or abuse this chance, I don’t want to lose you or your friendship because you just wanted somethin' short term"

"I don’t want somethin' short term, I’ve been wantin' to be with you ever since I moved here when my mom died, all my life since then it’s always been _you_ I wanted, I want to be with you for the rest of my life, if you’ll have me, so please, if you feel the same way, let’s give this a chance, we’ll start with just a date, dinner, in... four days? I have some shaman things to do before then but it’ll give you a chance to think this over and see if it’s what you _really_ want, which I can only guess would be a good thing, what do you say?" John asks, telling her everything he feels and asking her to think things over before they go on a date.

"I feel the same, always have, just didn’t know you felt the same way about me, i’d love to go to dinner with you on the... 29th?... and _don’t_ worry I won’t change my mind, this is everythin' I dreamed of us _both_ wantin', I just never expected that you felt the same, now... we’ve drank both those bottles of wine while we’ve been talkin', what i’d like to do now is go sit on the couch with you and have a cuddle, but first there’s somethin' else I have to do..." Abby answers, giving him a flame of hope where the tiny spark he’d been nurturing over all these years had been, now it has finally been fed with some positive answers helping it grow and burn brightly, warming his heart, then glowing even brighter when she talks of having a cuddle together on the couch, something he didn’t expect with her wish to go slow.

As he thinks about everything they’ve both said Abby leans forward to put her glass on the hearth next to the two empty wine bottles, John watching her move, then as she sits back up she slides her hand into the back of John's hair and pulls him towards her, kissing him passionately, much to his surprise, but he quickly gets with the program and kisses her back, his hands coming to rest on her cheeks so that he’s holding her and encouraging her without pinning her or stopping her from moving away if she wishes to.

When they separate so they can catch their breath Abby says "let’s go curl up on the couch" John just nodding mutely in agreement, getting to his feet and walking over to the couch that’s already made up as a bed.

"How do you wanna sit?" He asks, not wanting to assume anything or unintentionally push her into something she doesn’t want or is uncomfortable with.

"Well... as nice as kissin' you is I _am_ tired, how about we lay together on the couch and cuddle up and go to sleep? No funny business, I’m not ready for that, but cuddles and maybe a few more kisses before snugglin' together would be really nice" she explains, John more than happy to accept her offer because it’s more than he was expecting but is something he’d love to do.

"Yeah, let’s lay down, no funny business, although I _can’t_ promise I won’t get excited while I’m asleep, but I promise not to try it on, if that’s ok?" He replies as he sits down before laying with his arm outstretched ready for her to lay with her head resting on it.

"I get that, it’s ok, so long as you behave..." she says with a trusting smile, laying down next to him where he instantly covers her with the sheet and wraps his free hand around her waist, once they’re comfortable he smiles into her eyes and she smiles back before pulling him in towards her, kissing him softer and more slowly than last time, taking her time to show him her blossoming feelings for him, as they carry on slowly kissing they both get tireder and tireder until they both drift into a kiss tinged sleep.

RUBY/QUINN

Once Eliot’s left, Ruby walks back through to the living room where she finds Quinn reclining on the sofa with Jane sprawled across his chest with her fists wrapped in his shirt, she smiles softly and comes to kneel next to the couch before stroking his hair and kissing his forehead as he looks down at Jane with love and devotion on his face.

"You ok there Sean?" Ruby asks as she runs her fingers through his loose, curly hair, stroking her other hand down Jane’s back soothingly while he changes the direction of his gaze from Jane to Ruby, still filled with love and devotion.

"I’m fine, this little sweetheart doesn’t seem to want to let go though" he answers her, bringing his free hand up to stroke the side of Ruby’s face while his other hand is busy holding Jane in place.

"Well she’s had her shower, let’s go put her to bed before getting everything ready for tomorrow, then heading to bed ourselves when Bryce comes to play cards with dad" she suggests, both of them knowing they have more presents to bring down for under the tree before going to bed and they want to have a drink with Diwali too.

"Sounds like a plan, let’s get this little one up to bed!" Quinn says, slowly sitting up on the couch and then standing while holding Jane tight to his chest and supporting her head with his other hand, he slowly follows Ruby up the stairs and into the girl’s bedroom, Ruby pulling back the covers ready for Quinn so that he can lay Jane down and then tuck her into the big king sized bed making her look so _tiny_ and alone in it without Sarah with her.

But once Quinn has her laid down on the bed he is left with the same problem Eliot had earlier, Jane doesn’t want to let go of his shirt, so he very gently pries her fingers off his shirt one by one until he’s finally free and able to tuck her in properly.

Once they have each kissed her goodnight on the forehead Quinn and Ruby close the door of her room and go to their own, each retrieving an armload of presents and bringing them down the stairs, putting them under the tree in the living room with the huge pile of presents already there. Once they’re just adding the finishing touches to the piles Diwali wanders into the room with a glass of something alcoholic in his hand.

"Ah, children, how is everything? Have you put my granddaughter to bed already?" He asks, obviously in a good mood, making them both smile before Ruby answers.

"Yeah, she fell asleep on Eliot’s lap and then in Quinn’s so we took her up to bed, we thought we’d have a drink with you until Bryce gets here and then we’ll go to bed, maybe have a shower or a bath first to help us relax, assuming you’d like to have a drink with us?" Ruby tells him, giving her father the chance to turn down their plan if he’d rather spend some time alone.

"I would love to spend a couple of hours having a drink and a chat with you both, I’ve not really seen much of you both since you’ve been here between my shifts at the hospital and the things you’ve both been getting up to and i’d love to hear your plans for the wedding and run you both through the wedding ritual ready for next week, let’s get you both a drink and we’ll talk..." Diwali answers with a smile and ushers them into the dining area and pours them a drink each before they head back into the living room to talk.

**********************************************************************************

About two hours later Quinn has a new appreciation for Diwali’s dry sense of humour and the three of them are very relaxed and kinda drunk, Ruby and Quinn know what’s expected of them in their wedding ritual and Quinn has told Diwali that he’s honoured to join the Tribe upon his marriage to Ruby.

Just as Quinn is about to go for another drink there’s a knock on the door and he’s reminded that Diwali has a card game tonight, while Diwali answers the door Quinn says to Ruby "maybe it’s time to take our leave and have that bath you mentioned?" Ruby saying "Yeah let’s" before standing up and taking his hand, pulling him up and leading him towards the door.

"Hello Ruby, and you must be Sean Quinn, I’m Bryce Collins the deputy sheriff, nice to meet you" Bryce says holding out his hand to shake Quinn’s, a gesture that Quinn accepts, shaking his hand before dropping it and putting his arm around Ruby’s waist before replying.

"Nice to meet you too, thank you for what you did for Eliot, it means a lot to me, you’ll have to excuse us we were just on our way up to bed" Quinn smoothly makes their excuses, Bryce nodding and smiling before they pass by him and head up the stairs a little unsteadily.

When they reach their room they lock the door behind them, wandering to the bed Quinn asks "do you still want that bath?" As he sits down on the edge and pulls his shirt and sweater over his head together leaving him in just his jeans.

"I was thinking more like a shower, if that’s ok with you?" Ruby answers, slowly pulling the dress she’s been wearing up her body and off over her head, leaving her in just an unmatched set of underwear and a smile.

"Shower sounds good to me, you up for sharing?" Quinn asks, knowing what the answer will be but also knowing it’s only polite to ask not assume.

"Of course I want to share, come here so I can take your jeans off you..." she replies, smiling sexily and opening her arms out to him, Quinn coming straight into her embrace and kissing her passionately as he holds her gently.

When their kiss breaks he’s a little surprised to find his jeans undone and halfway down his legs as he hadn’t noticed her undoing them but he shrugs it away to think about later, something he’s been doing quite a bit of lately, he allows the jeans to fall all the way to the floor and then steps out of them before pulling Ruby in for another kiss.

While they kiss Quinn undoes Ruby’s bra and slides it off her, dropping it to one side before bringing his hands up to caress her breasts now they’re free to the slightly chill air of the room, Ruby mirroring his caresses and stroking his pecs and his nipples making him moan occasionally into their kiss just like she is.

As they kiss they move towards the bathroom, Ruby stumbling backwards as he walks forwards, holding her up when she wobbles to make sure she’s safe without breaking their passion and love filled kiss.

Unfortunately their luck runs out and Ruby backs into the doorframe as she tries to lead Quinn through the door into the bathroom, bumping her head again and breaking their kiss to moan out "ooowwwww!" As she puts her hand to the back of her head.

"_Ruby_! Are you alright?" Quinn asks as he manoeuvres her into the bathroom so she can lean against the vanity cabinet under the mirror.

"Yeah, I’m ok, my head isn’t even bleeding, see? It was just a small bump, I moaned more from the shock than the pain" she answers as she checks her fingertips for blood then shows him they’re clear.

"I’m _sorry_ you got hurt again..." Quinn starts, feeling guilty and responsible for both times she’s banged her head but she stops him by pulling him forward into her space and kissing him enthusiastically as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him tight against her body, slowly rubbing her hips against his to let him know just how good she’s feeling.

"No more of that, it was just an accident and just as much my fault if not more so, so just kiss me and love me and let’s have that shower" Ruby insists, before sliding to her knees as she pulls his boxers down his muscular legs to the floor, Quinn stepping free of them so she can throw them into the laundry hamper, after which she leans forward and licks the head of his amazingly hard cock, stealing the bead of precum that is welling in the slit, making him moan rather loudly at both the sensation and the image she presents.

"God Ruby, as good as that feels I want you up here so I can kiss you!" Quinn tells her as he takes hold of her and gently lifts her to her feet, before kissing her sweetly and longingly.

As they kiss he hooks his thumbs into the sides of her panties and pushes them down, once they’re past her slim hips they slide straight down her legs, Ruby kicking them towards the laundry hamper as their kiss continues, once it finally ends Quinn holds her tightly against himself, hugging her and nuzzling against the side of her face and neck, after about half a minute he realises that Ruby is shivering within his grasp and he decides its time to get in the shower.

"C’mon Ruby, you’re _freezing_, come get into the shower and warm up, ok?" He encourages as he ushers her towards the shower cubical that they can just both fit into, it’s ok for cuddles but a bit cramped for washing together.

"You are coming in with me right?" She asks, wanting kisses and cuddles more than actually being worried about washing, although she has every intention to wash as well.

"Course I am! No way I’m letting you out of my grasp, you’re _MY_ Lady and I’m going to love you all that I can for as long as I can, you’re _everything_ to me, along with our kids" he reassures her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze while he kisses her sweetly.

When their kiss breaks they climb into the shower cubical and start the water, as soon as it’s warm enough they start to wash and once that’s done they hold each other under the hot spray, kissing and occasionally groping until their fingers start to wrinkle up, when they notice they climb out and wrap themselves in towels, wandering through into the bedroom and sorting out their needs such as deodorant and the like while drying off.

As Quinn is just turning around while drying his hair Ruby turns to face him with a wrapped gift in her hands, Quinn looks from the gift to her nervous face and says "what’s this? Something I should have taken downstairs?"

Ruby answers with a shake of her head before saying "no, it’s for you, me and Jayda used to always swap one gift at midnight on Christmas, when she moved to England I stopped but i’d like to do it with you, you _deserve_ midnight gifts"

Quinn is touched by her words and wraps his arms around her, ignoring the gift, and hugs her lovingly before saying "I’ve got something for you too, just give me a minute" and parting from her to go open one of his bedside drawers and pulling out a small velvet box.

"Who’s going first?" Ruby asks as he comes back to her, Quinn looking up at her a little shyly before answering "it is your idea, you go first" so Ruby holds out the gift she has hold of and passes it to Quinn who looks down at the two gifts in his hands before saying "let me give you this so I have a free hand to open the gift" and hands her the velvet box which she takes hold of reverently.

Once he has a hand free Quinn unties the bow around the small box and opens it, he looks inside for a second before looking up at Ruby with his mouth hanging open, then looks down into the box before pulling out a set of keys for a truck "tell me this is second hand! Even then it’s too much! I can’t accept this...!" He says, standing there in shock.

"Well you _better_ accept it because I can’t send it back, it’s new with all the features and I had it made sapphire blue because you said it’s your favourite colour, you’re going to need your own truck baby, this is the best you can get for what we need round here that’s also good in a city" Ruby replies, telling him in no uncertain terms that he _does_ have to accept it.

"Ru, I don’t know what to say... thank you! _Please_ open your gift" He says before thinking and adding "where is the truck?"

Ruby smiles at him and says "it’s at the farm, Bruce hid it for me, you’ll be able to get it tomorrow" before looking down at the velvet box in her hand, when she looks up Quinn gestures for her to open it, so she does, inside is a beautiful, long, platinum necklace with a two carat unflawed ruby teardrop pendant, Ruby gasps and looks up at Quinn, completely gobsmacked before whispering out "Sean, I... I _can’t_ take this.... it’s... Oh my gods it’s too much..."

Quinn quickly closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around her, telling her "Ruby, it could be a jewel the size of my head and it would still never be enough to give you, please... let me put it on you?" He asks, taking the necklace out of the box and then opening the catch, putting it behind her neck and doing it back up, the jewel hanging about two inches above the space between her breasts, drawing the eye to them wonderfully.

"_Beautiful_, I knew you and that gem were made to go together" He tells her before pulling her in for a kiss then slowly working them towards the bed, breaking the kiss when they’re next to it before saying "let’s finish getting sorted and get into bed ok?"

Once they’ve both gotten themselves sorted they both get into bed, cuddling up into the middle and kissing slowly and lovingly, taking their time to just be together and show some affection, after a while just as Quinn’s hands start to wander over her naked body Ruby’s iPad rings with an incoming FaceTime call.

When they’ve pulled up the covers so they’re both decent Ruby presses the answer button "Hi guys! Everyone here wanted to call and say hi, but they’re bein' lazy so rather than all gather round to say hi you’re gonna get passed around everyone a couple at a time, I’m not sure if Sarah is still awake..." they’re greeted by Jayda, the iPad getting passed around the room at the party as everyone says hi in pairs and threes, before they come back to Jayda, Eliot and Sarah, everyone saying goodbye before Ruby turns off the call and puts her iPad on her bedside cabinet, leaving her hands free to start caressing Quinn as he pulls her back into the centre of the bed.

After receiving the expected call from the party they know their night is now their own and decide to make the most of it, Quinn quickly pulling Ruby down the bed until her head rests on the pillows, then he kisses her hungrily as he lays over her, his hands running up and down her body, turning her on even more with his caresses and the feel of his naked body laying against her own.

Once their kiss trails off to mutual panting Quinn asks "do you want to? I’d like to make love to you..." the tone of his voice begging her for her permission to make love to her.

"_Yes_! I want you all the time! I _never_ knew I could feel like this, I’m _horny_ all the time, I feel _wet_ all the time, and all I want is you inside me, _always_...." she replies, telling him how wondrous these new feelings are to her and how she’d never want them to stop.

At her consent he nudges her knees apart so he can rest his knees between them, rubbing his cock against her mound as he leans down to kiss her again, his hand stroking her throat before ever so lightly squeezing, Ruby letting out a quiet "Oh!" At the sensation of going slightly lightheaded where he’d restricted the blood flow to her brain ever so slightly, an effect that makes her nerves light up like the stars across the night sky, all shimmering and blinking, especially where he’s touching her, as soon as she makes a sound he lets go, not wanting to scare or hurt her but instead she asks "what was _that_? It made everything more intense and pleasurable!" Sounding a tiny bit spaced out but rather happy.

"I restricted the blood flow to your brain, it makes you lightheaded and that makes your nerves more sensitive, did you like it?" He answers honestly, a little worried she’ll think he was trying to hurt her, but he knows what he’s doing and hopes she will know that.

"Is it safe to do that? Because I liked it, I bet if you did that as I came it would be _amazing_!" She says, reassuring him when she says that she liked it and turning him on even more when she suggests doing it as she reaches her peak.

"It’s safe so long as you know what you’re doing, and I _do_ know what I’m doing, I would _never_ have done it to you otherwise, I’m glad you liked it, and i’d love to do it to you as you cum, but not tonight, once we’re back home and can have some kinky fun, ok?" He answers, letting her know she’s safe in his hands and that he would never hurt her.

"Sean? Will you make love to me now? You’ve been rubbing against my clit for a while but I need you inside me, please?" She begs breathlessly, wanting nothing more than to feel him slide inside her again and slowly make love together.

Rather than answer with words Quinn brings his hand down to her knee and pulls it up beside his waist, opening her more so that he can easily position himself at her entrance, being helped when she raises her other leg and wraps them both around his waist, hooking them together at the small of his back and using them to lift her hips towards him just as he presses forwards into her, making him slide in all the way rather than the partway he had intended, not that she minds, it’s exactly what she wants and tightens down on him instantly, letting out a cry of pleasure and passion at the feel of him.

"Oh Sean Yes! Love the feel of you inside of me!" She cries, her short nails scrabbling at his back and shoulders trying to get a good grip on him so she can encourage his movements even more as he starts to slowly thrust into her, his lips moving down her neck and across her shoulder, kissing and occasionally sucking a bruise or nipping at her to show his passion, making her squeak, sigh and cry out as he makes her feel good.

"Sean? Will you kiss me? _Please_? Want to feel your lips on mine while you move inside me..." Ruby begs, wanting his kisses as a way for him to show his passion in the way he can’t when he’s making love to her slowly like he is now.

"Of course, love, come here..." he answers before tentatively kissing her lips, his kiss slowly building in force and passion, waiting until she moans into the kiss to slide his tongue into her mouth and stroke and caress her tongue as his hips move against hers, slowly sliding in and out of her as his pelvis grinds her clit between them, bringing her to the edge quickly.

"Oh! Sean! Gonna... gonna cum!" She whispers against his neck after breaking their kiss, tightening down even as she speaks and flooding over his cock as she reaches her peak, her channel clenching down on him over and over again, along with his slow movements its enough to tip her over the peak again, this time with a quiet "aaaahhh!" Making him slow his movements even further and stroke her face gently and lovingly.

"_That’s_ my girl! So sexy when you cum for me, makes me want to hammer into you until you scream, but I’m enjoying this too much to do that now, I _love_ you My Lady, and I always will, more than anything else in the world except our kids" he tells her, his eyes shining with love and pride as he looks down at her while still making love to her "I’m so indescribably _lucky_ to have you and have you want to marry me, I’ll never be able to be worthy of you, but I’m so thankful for you and that you can love me" He continues, making sure she knows how much she means to him.

"Sean, I’m the lucky one, to be rescued by such a gallant man, someone who wants to protect and respect me and my girls, and is capable of actually doing it, I couldn’t have asked for a man any better than you, now, come here and kiss me while we carry on making love!" She replies before pulling him down for a passionate, dirty kiss.

As they kiss ruby pulls herself up against him, grinding her long clit between them as he thrusts, and as she does he can feel his balls tightening, they’ve been going for ages and even this slow stimulation will get him off after a while, so he breaks their kiss to speak again "are you close love? Because I’m getting there and I don’t want to leave you unsatisfied, so you ok to finish like this or do you need me to speed up?" He asks, wanting to be sure of her satisfaction before allowing himself to cum.

"Baby, I’ve not stopped being on the edge since my first orgasm, having to hold back from them so I don’t have to stop you before you’re done, if you’re ready let’s let go and do it, if you need to speed up you can but I’m fine like this!" She answers him, letting him know she’s been edging most of the time they’ve been making love, her muscles tightening down on him rhythmically as she lets go of her control over herself, instantly shouting out, but Quinn muffles her shout with his own mouth, leaving hardly any noise to escape as she cums hard.

Quinn is soon at the edge himself, and just as he’s starting to cum she bites him as she suddenly squeezes down on him even tighter than before, grinding her hips tight up against his while he explodes inside of her, letting out a groan of his own which changes in pitch when she tightens her bite and her legs squeezing around his waist as she cums for the third time in two minutes.

Once they’ve both caught their breath Quinn leans down and kisses her murmuring "I love you" as he pats her thigh as a sign she should release him from her hold around his waist, which she slowly does, groaning as the stiffened muscles complain about the change in position, allowing him to pull back and let his softened cock slip free of her body, Ruby letting out a small whimper as he does.

"You ok?" He asks as he gently lays down beside her and slowly wraps her into his arms while she shudders and trembles still in reaction to her orgasms, while she snuggles into his arms she murmurs "Yes, always feel perfect when I’m with you..." before kissing his neck sweetly as she snuggles in as close as she can.

"You ready to sleep now?" He asks her, holding her tightly as he kisses the top of her head, stroking his hand down over her shoulder and arm and then back up to soothe her.

"Yes... wanna sleep... in your hold... perfect...." she murmurs disjointedly before falling instantly into a deep sleep, Quinn smiling at her heavy, limp, weight in his arms and thinking 'whoops, I must have worn her out!' As he settles down to wait for sleep to claim him too.


End file.
